The Welsh Assembly's finance minister has defended in resolute terms the decision to 'rebadge' Best Value and dilute the role of external inspection in the principality.
A promising start, but must try harder: that is the message from education professionals to the secretary of state Estelle Morris after her government's long-awaited Education Bill was published last...
English councils are set to receive an increase of around 7% in grant when ministers unveil the provisional 2002/03 finance settlement next week, Public Finance can reveal.
Northern Ireland's health service has been thrown into crisis by a cash shortage, according to Dr Joe Hendron, chair of the Assembly's health committee.
The Association of Police Authorities (APA) has launched a four-pronged self-assessment and continuous improvement programme under the auspices of Best Value.
Prejudice in central government circles against the ability of councils to deliver service improvement helped derail Best Value in Wales, according to one of the principality's most prominent local...
Audit Commission controller Sir Andrew Foster has revealed plans to work with a Welsh local authority to develop its much-vaunted new model for Best Value inspections.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has insisted it is not being marginalised despite a government decision to launch a large-scale clinical trial of multiple sclerosis drugs that Nice had...
Local authorities need to address the failings rampant in the administration of housing benefit as poor management is causing hardship for claimants, according to the Audit Commission.
Ministers are preparing to force mayoral referendums in more than half a dozen councils next month as the momentum to get more London-style, directly elected leaders in place gathers pace.
English local authorities are demanding a substantial increase in next year's finance settlement if they are to avert major service cuts and huge hikes in council tax.
The new arrangements were introduced on October 1, categorising elderly patients requiring long-term nursing care into three funding categories £35, £70 and £110 per week following an assessment...
The government should plug the nursing recruitment gap rather than spend increasing amounts of money on temporary staff, the Royal College of Nursing argued this week.
The government's attempts to increase the number of successful adoptions by setting up a national register must not obscure the needs of children, the Association of Directors of Social Services...
The foot and mouth crisis looks set to become the agricultural version of the Millennium Dome fiasco as the National Audit Office launches an investigation into the government's handling of the...
The Queen's golden jubilee next year will give 20 towns across Britain the chance to compete for the coveted status of cities, the government has announced.
Final contracts that would allow the private sector preferred bidders to begin work on London Underground's deep Tube lines could be delayed by a further six months until next spring.
Birmingham City Council is setting a precedent in housing transfers by asking lenders to underwrite loans worth £1bn before it consults tenants over the move.
Deprived communities in Wales are to benefit from an £83m regeneration programme aimed at tackling social disadvantage, Edwina Hart, Assembly Minister for Finance, Local Government and Communities...
The government intends to give the private sector fixed-term contracts to manage schools and more 'sponsorship opportunities' under a legislative programme designed to place more pressure on public...
The Local Government Association has proposed setting up an independent commission to examine the long-term future of local government finance and agree 'a fair deal' for councils.
College lecturers went on their first national strike for a decade this week, causing disruption during exam time for students at 290 colleges across England.
The Post Office is set to call in postal managers and volunteers to limit the damage caused by a series of strikes by sorting-office workers this week.
A pilot project using Internet technology to educate children who are not attending school has produced impressive results and is set to be rolled out across the country.
