Politicians in Scotland have been told there is no case for excluding
particular public services from efficiency savings if the sector is to meet
the challenges of the financial crisis.
Third sector leaders have appealed for protection from spending cuts as figures today revealed the increasingly central role voluntary bodies play in providing public services
All the main parties support independently run schools in some form. But there is no guarantee that they produce results for the pupils themselves, reports Lucy Phillips
Economists have said detailed financial plans in the Liberal Democrat manifesto do not give a complete enough picture of what they would do if they formed the next government.
Clear signals from both Labour and the Conservatives that more voluntary organisations will be used to provide essential services have been condemned by public sector workers.
The squeeze on public spending means health inequalities between the rich and poor are unlikely to be bridged for another decade, a leading think-tank has warned.
Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru has made its pitch for the general election, claiming to be the only party that would protect public services in Wales.
A hung Parliament would offer a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to secure strategic gains for unionism, the leader of Northern Ireland’s main unionist party has said.
National Insurance policy remains the main economic dividing line between Labour and the Conservatives after both parties published election manifestos short on public spending detail
The local elections should attract a large number of voters thanks to the simultaneous national elections. And that could lead to some strange results. David Williams reports
Forecasts of an unprecedented £3bn cut in Scottish public services over the next three years are unreliable, an expert on public finance has told a budget review panel
The government should hand over responsibility for the road network to citizens through shares that would generate money through road tolls, according to a think-tank report
