Real income growth has ground to a halt after five years of recovery, with lowest income households hardest hit because of cuts in benefits and tax credits.
Civil servants are in line for a pay increase of up to 2% this year – with the potential for higher increases in departments that are undergoing transformational reform or struggling to recruit.
Financial performance among health providers has “improved significantly” but the sector is still too reliant on one-off efficiency savings, according to the latest data.
The introduction of universal credit, and in particular the five-week delay before receipt of the first payment, has led to an “unacceptable” rise in rent arrears north of the border.
Around three fifths of those who bought a home through the Help to Buy scheme would have been able to buy a property without the government’s help, according to the National Audit Office.
The government has been urged by two leading charities to reverse £1bn in “short-sighted” cuts to public health funding, which they warn will directly impact long-term health and increase strain on...
The UK has committed to eradicating its net contribution to climate change by 2050, in a plan that will see it become the first major economy to set its zero emissions target in law.
Nearly one in five children in England start school with poor speech and language skills as English regions suffer funding cuts for therapy, research has found.
Public services in Wales are at risk of losing up to £1bn a year as a result of fraud - but public bodies lack the resources to take effective action, auditors have warned.
The government urged for public health services’ commissioning to be more joined-up, as it confirmed the responsibility would remain with local authorities.
The body for ensuring transparency and accountability in charities’ financial accounts will be “considerably more effective” under new proposals, a review panel has said.
“Fundamental weaknesses” in a £735m UK aid fund to help the poorest countries have left it neglecting its international development goals, a watchdog has claimed.
The government spent at least £97m on Brexit consultancy services in the last financial year - but has failed to be fully transparent with costs, the spending watchdog has found.
The mass devolution of social security benefits next year represents a “very significant fiscal risk” to the Scottish budget, according to the body responsible for Scotland’s economic forecasts.
Councils are concerned that a National Audit Office investigation into commercial property investment will criticise them, public finance experts have told PF.
