Councils could be forced to delve into billions of pounds of vital cash reserves following a tough 2006/07 finance settlement, ministers have warned town hall officials.
Never one to shrink from a challenge, David Blunkett has taken the incapacity benefit bit between his teeth. Judy Hirst reports on the work and pensions secretary's controversial measures to get...
Water companies' services are almost perfect, says the regulator. But with almost 4,000 million litres of water wasted through burst pipes and leakages every day, David Meilton begs to differ
Controversial proposals to overhaul the probation service by opening it up to competition met with fierce criticism this week from employers and unions alike.
Northern Ireland is to follow the example of the Republic of Ireland and Scotland by banning smoking in all workplaces and enclosed public spaces from April 2007.
Sunday is a day of rest and dread if you run a public body. For, come Monday, you know you have to run a gauntlet of inspectors, auditors, MPs and others who all have something to say about your...
Some five million householders in England and Wales are at risk of flooding - and as many as 41% of them are unaware of the dangers, the Environment Agency has warned.
The public sector could employ an additional 5,700 doctors, 12,800 nurses or 9,100 police officers annually with the money it loses through two forms of benefit fraud.
Welsh local government leaders are demanding financial help directly from the Treasury to plug the funding gap they claim has been created by a delay in publishing the results of Sir Michael Lyons'...
As the Conservatives gear up for their Blackpool conference next week, they face their most important leadership contest in more than 40 years. Philip Johnston analyses the policies behind the beauty...
Parents' fundraising activities are helping to supplement the purchase of core school equipment, the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations claimed this week.
Whitehall should be subject to a performance inspection regime similar to the one already in place for local government, the head of the Office of Government Commerce said this week.
Political parties that do not comply with the Electoral Commission's financial regulations could be barred from campaigning in future elections, Public Finance has learned.
Britain still dumps most of its rubbish in landfill sites, instead of recycling it. But tough new European Union regulations are set to change all that. David Meilton reports on how councils are...
The new licensing regime has been condemned as a 'shambles' by industry representatives as the government's own estimates suggest that at least 30% of businesses will miss the August 6 deadline.
People who assault fire officers in the course of their work could be imprisoned for up to two years under the provisions of a draft order published in Northern Ireland.
