Local government pension deficits have tripled to around £30bn over the past three years, but council scheme managers have been urged not to panic as they strive to meet the escalating cost of...
Town hall leaders are warning that the £1bn cash injection promised by Gordon Brown does nothing to tackle the underlying pressures on council tax bills, which could still soar in future years.
The replacement for NHS star ratings in England will give patients a 'richer picture' of trusts' strengths and weaknesses and include a wider assessment of their financial position, the Healthcare...
A single co-ordinating body must be set up to reduce drastically the bureaucratic burden councils are forced to bear because of the regulation and inspection regime, town hall leaders are demanding.
College leaders have called on Ofsted to review its 'biased' inspection criteria, after the inspectorate branded the number of failing colleges a 'national disgrace'.
The head of a powerful construction consortium has warned the Office of Government Commerce that plans to reform the Private Finance Initiative are flawed.
Half of all crime reduction partnerships examined by the National Audit Office have been delayed by up to a year due to bureaucracy and might not achieve their 2002/05 targets.
Sixteen 'arm's-length' NHS bodies, including those concerned with fraud, pensions and estate management, will cease to function next year, it emerged this week.
Thousands of public service jobs in Scotland were in jeopardy this week after Finance Minister Tom McCabe released details of the Scottish Executive's long-awaited efficiency review aimed at saving £...
Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has asked its regulator for 'time and space' to implement its financial recovery plan after its overspend was projected at more than £11m.
Charles Clarke has moved to protect degree courses of 'national strategic importance' in the wake of Exeter University's controversial decision to scrap its chemistry department.
More than a third of all local authorities and three-quarters of county councils are using their new prudential borrowing powers, reveals a survey by the Local Government Association.
The civil service needs to ditch its 'inherent Victorian values' if it is to better formulate and implement policies in the interests of voters, an outrider for public sector reform has warned.
Stripping councils of their education funding powers will leave schools isolated and hinder the drive towards more integrated services, local government leaders warned this week.
Ministers must develop an effective strategy to deal with international prisoners after a new study showed record numbers are detained in UK jails, an influential pressure group has warned.
NHS foundation trusts are lobbying ministers to be allowed to bid for the next wave of private sector health care contracts, the Healthcare Financial Management Association conference heard last week.
Education watchdog Ofsted faces a legal challenge after inspectors admitted copying chunks of a report on a Birmingham school from an existing study on a Bradford comprehensive.
