Welsh Labour leaders have denied that they are examining options for coalition government if they fail to retain control of the Welsh Assembly after the May 3 elections.
Councils have called on Audit Scotland to change the way it conducts its Best Value audit process, the system that places a duty on local authorities to make continuous improvements in their...
The Labour Party in Wales, which fears losing control of the Welsh Assembly in the May 3 elections, accused its rivals of not presenting coherent proposals for new laws.
The future of local government finance moved up the election agenda in Scotland this week as the Liberal Democrats announced their plans for a local income tax.
Northern Ireland council workers take on average more than three days extra sickness absence per year than their equivalents in England and Wales, a report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office has...
Whitehall's largest trade union this week intensified its battle against the government's civil service reform agenda by asking hundreds of local councillors for their views on the controversial...
Politicians suffer from myopia and tunnel vision they look only to the short term and take a blinkered view of the issue in hand. This is a sentiment with which many people would agree.
The latest strategy to get NHS waiting lists down is 24 hours a day surgery. But critics say it might endanger patient welfare, and boosting resources elsewhere would be more effective. Noel...
More than £12bn of public funds is spent every year on support for small business but to what effect? A Conservative Party task force found the programmes to be ineffective, bureaucratic and...
NHS staff in Scotland are to receive their entire 2.5% pay increase in April following a surprise decision that conflicts with the phased deal on offer to their counterparts in England and Wales.
Scots council tax bills are to rise by less than the rate of inflation. A number of factors, including a generous funding settlement and fears of the impact at the ballot box, have all played a role
Whitehall's largest trade union is threatening to hijack the local elections in May by exposing candidates supporting the government's controversial civil service reform agenda.
Despite the best efforts of the Disability Discrimination Act, too many disabled people are still treated as second-class citizens. The new equality duty on public sector organisations is intended to...
Organisations wishing to challenge contracts awarded by public bodies have been able to do so on the basis of judicial review. Not any longer, it would seem, if the decision to tender had been...
Government health watchdogs have criticised the 'disgraceful' lack of co-ordinated effort in reducing the number of children who have to be taken to hospital following preventable injury.
As the UK rushes to improve the skills of its workforce, a door has opened for more private sector involvement in further and higher education. Is this filling a gap or taking over at the expense of...
Councillors will be allowed to address local meetings on issues in which they have a personal interest, under plans floated this week by Local Government Secretary Ruth Kelly.
Are decades of planning laws about to be reversed in a free-for-all that will carpet England's green belts with out-of-town megastores? Peter Hetherington weighs up the evidence on the Barker review
Government plans to effectively close the London headquarters of the Office for National Statistics are ill-conceived and will cause 'severe risks' to future data, senior staff have warned.
Public sector bodies look set to face new rules and responsibilities as part of the government's attempt to cut carbon emissions. Proposals now out for consultation offer both challenges and...
The local government white paper promised a bright new future for 'radical and devolutionary reform'. But the process has already been short-circuited, argues Tim Thorogood
Well done to all of you who took part your comprehensive knowledge of the news is impressive. Particular congratulations to our winner Sue Alliott at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,...
With a Brown premiership predicted for any time soon, all bets are off as to what it will mean for one of Blair's most cherished 'legacy' issues public service reform. Tony Travers hacks through a...
Tackling antisocial behaviour costs taxpayers £3.4bn a year, but half of all antisocial behaviour orders are breached and some towns are dogged by perceived threats of yobbish acts, a study has...
