Town hall leaders have urged ministers to reject a key proposal from David Freud's welfare review, claiming that regional 'mega-contractors' could fail to combat deep-rooted local unemployment...
The Welsh Local Government Association has welcomed First Minister Rhodri Morgan's commitment to consider reallocating some business rates to councils.
Scottish local government finance could be heading for a radical change if a move to outcome budgeting is sanctioned by the new Executive, CIPFA delegates heard on June 13.
The imminent new money laundering regulations have spurred on CIPFA's plans for a practice assurance scheme for self-employed members. The basic framework will be decided at the AGM
The incoming CIPFA president intends to apply the same drive and determination to his institute role as he has to his career and to his passion for orienteering
Is New Labour's modernisation agenda for public services anywhere near endgame? Tony Travers surveys the progress so far and asks whether a Brown government should slow down or speed up the pace of...
The recent UK-wide elections have highlighted the fact that there is not one NHS but four. Noel Plumridge examines what binds the different health services and what sets them apart
Men living in England and Wales' poorest wards suffer poor health and disability for 5.5 years longer on average than those in the richest wards, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has told council leaders he wants to freeze council tax bills from 2008 prior to introducing a local income tax.
Gordon Brown has said he is not opposed to electoral reform if it keeps the constituency link. One idea is the alternative vote system, which is supported by ministers Gareth Thomas and James...
Hundreds of town halls have been left struggling with paperwork after the new online registration system for births and deaths was withdrawn following technical failures.
Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan has been given approval to talk to the leaders of Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats as he seeks to continue Labour minority rule in the Welsh Assembly.
In the end, 'Super Thursday' wasn't meltdown for New Labour but neither was it a springboard for success. Tony Travers looks at the party's prospects after the local, Scottish and Welsh elections...
Housing minister Yvette Cooper has dismissed peers' criticism of her incoming Home Improvement Packs as representing vested interests and failing to understand the environmental benefits of property...
Payment by results is here to stay. But now ministers are consulting on the best way to 'unbundle' the tariff-based system. Noel Plumridge braves the details
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...
