This year has got off to a somewhat odd start, with the word that dared not speak its name nationalisation back from the dead, and even state ownership of body parts up for debate
The 'use of resources' element of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment has led to a dramatic improvement in council services. But it won't be stopping there. In fact, it's set to play an even...
We received an impressive tally of high-scoring entries to our annual sprint through the year's public sector events. So very well done to our winner, Karen Franklin of Spalding in Lincolnshire, who...
The Private Finance Initiative is delivering real benefits but needs sustained political will and the right environment to succeed, business leaders have told a Scottish Parliament inquiry into...
Councils can drive down costs and improve the quality of their services by increasing their use of competition and market mechanisms, according to the Audit Commission.
There are big ambitions for the Comprehensive Area Assessment: for it to judge how well councils are serving their communities, and for it to be a more nimble form of inspection than its predecessor...
Welsh council leaders hit out at an 'inadequate' settlement for local government this week, warning that council tax rises and service cuts would be inevitable.
Wales has rejected the Blair-led notion that the private sector should be a major service provider. Andrew Davies, minister for finance and public service delivery, talks to Alex Klaushofer about...
Private contractors providing welfare services could be subjected to a ratings system similar to that used for councils and NHS trusts, under government plans to tackle unemployment and poverty.
The Public and Commercial Services union has attacked Prime Minister Gordon Brown's creation of a Border Agency to oversee security at ports and airports.
The timing could hardly have been worse. Job creation is the Northern Ireland Executive's top priority, Finance Minister Peter Robinson announced in his Budget.
The Highways Agency must rely less on external consultants, as 'poor commercial acumen' is leading to projects going massively over budget, MPs have said.
Ways to cope with the economic and social implications of an ageing society are at last on the government's to-do list. Public Finance and Deloitte convened a round table of politicians and policy...
The Comprehensive Spending Review held no surprises with only small increases in budgets. But how does this match with the rising needs of vulnerable older people, asks Anne Williams
Northern Ireland's first Budget since the restoration of devolution has seen a big increase in economic development spending at the expense of social housing.
There is a rich stream of 'untapped' funding from the private sector that could be used to improve Britain's transport infrastructure, ministers have said.
The government wants neighbourhoods and communities to run more services. But with an eye-wateringly tight local government financial settlement, how will this be funded? Peter Hetherington...
Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears is under pressure to reject a proposed overhaul of council services in the Northwest, after auditors representing one of the nine bids for unitary status...
The Comprehensive Spending Review is imminent but Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andy Burnham still has some juggling to do not least to find the funding for the PM's new plans for public services...
The grumblings from public sector trade unions are growing louder as Gordon Brown prepares for his first Labour Party conference as prime minister next week. But the strike threats over the pay rise...
