Facts and figures from the December 2015 edition of Public Finance magazine, including pay growth, Bank of England forecasts, international health provision, student satisfaction, and refugee numbers.
How well can you recall the year? From the Conservative general election victory to the closure of the Audit Commission, how many names and events can you remember from the past 12 months? Test your...
The ongoing fiscal squeeze is encouraging public bodies of all shapes and sizes to reassess how they use, and might benefit from, the properties on their books
The country needs thousands of new homes and providing them is a government policy priority. So why have the Conservatives announced measures that will lead to fewer homes being built by social...
As austerity has pushed down on public services, a plethora of risks and uncertainties have popped up in response. A recent Public Finance roundtable debated the issues at stake
Devolution of powers and budgets from central government is an essential driver for integrating public services at the local level, writes Lord Kerslake
The silos of Westminster and Whitehall are not impregnable. Hard-won lessons from the Total Place initiative point the way to improved public service alignment
Views from the 2015 CIPFA CFO Summit which considered challenges for public services around the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review and the need for service transformation.
There have always been fraudsters who targeted the public sector at every level. Today, digitisation of public services is increasing the opportunities for criminals. And counter fraud experts...
Amy Armstrong describes how organisations can foster a culture of compassion to help managers support employees with dignity and care when they have to cope with bereavement, critical illness or...
Technology is removing the barriers of location, expense and speed to collaboration. Imaginative ideas – think Airbnb and taxi apps – don’t have to be confined to the private sector
Built upon equal sharing of profit and loss as well as other ethical principles, Islamic finance is prospering in the UK and could provide an alternative approach to managing public funds
By 2030 most men and women can expect to live into their mid-80s. That will bring extras bills for health care, pensions and perks such as free bus passes. But isn’t it unfair for the burden to...
Savings from IT are obvious when the criminal courts and CPS devour 15 times the height of Snowdon in paper every year. But legal processes must be updated too, or the result is ‘mess for less...
The public sector is spending far more than private firms on outsourced services, despite a very patchy history of delivery. What can be done to promote better outcomes, particularly in value for...
Five years of radical changes in education policy have created thousands of academy and free schools. But have financial management and governance kept pace?