English local authorities collected an extra £15m in council tax last year, but the rate of improvement slowed, leading to claims from private sector analysts that the government has adopted a '...
Senior civil servants this week warned that more needs to be done to follow up public inquiry recommendations, or Whitehall and governments will never learn the lessons from events such as Dr David...
Nearly 75% of finance professionals rate a 'valuable' pension scheme as one of the main benefits of working in the public sector, a survey revealed this week.
The Healthcare Commission is to overhaul its approach to inspection and is examining the Comprehensive Performance Assessment model used in local government.
CBI director general Digby Jones has demanded that all savings achieved by Sir Peter Gershon's efficiency review are independently audited so that ministers' claims of success can be verified.
NHS trusts that fail to implement National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance on anti-cancer drugs and other treatments will receive lower star ratings, the Healthcare Commission and
the...
Government plans to end the exclusion of people with mental health problems from opportunities in employment, education and housing should become a 'watershed', a leading charity said this week.
A tenfold increase in the bill for transferring the government communications headquarters (GCHQ) to new accommodation has been slated by the Commons' Public Accounts Committee.
Rail regulator Tom Winsor has proposed wide-ranging dispute resolution arrangements for the industry, aimed at preventing a repeat of the legal rows with train operators that followed the 2000...
The auditor general for Scotland, Bob Black, has called for improvements in the management of Scottish Enterprise's business support service to achieve value for money from its £40m funding.
Some of the largest police forces in England and Wales and their chief constables will come under intense scrutiny from the Home Office over the next 12 months, after failing to improve their...
London Mayor Ken Livingstone's second term could prove tougher than the first after Conservatives warned that they will do all they can to 'rein in' the mayor's spending.
It is too early to tell whether the complicated public- private partnership contracts to maintain the London Underground are a good deal for the taxpayer, the National Audit Office has concluded.
Cabinet Office officials this week warned civil servants that there would be no return to national pay bargaining, despite acknowledging claims by Whitehall's largest union that there had been a '...
The government is to draw up a ten-year strategy for local government that will herald a 'new settlement' of the relationship between town halls and Whitehall.
Finance staff worried about the introduction of a new pay system in the NHS were given a boost this week as an initiative designed to protect their salaries and career progression was unveiled.
Liverpool City Council chief executive David Henshaw leads an array of public sector figures in the Queen's birthday honours list. He was awarded a knighthood for services to local government. He won...
More than a third of councils could face court action and fines unless they take steps to prepare for the impact of new equality legislation, the Disability Rights Commission has warned.
Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (Dard) has been slammed by the auditor general for failing to recoup costs from developers for the installation of drainage...
Whitehall's three landmark reviews Gershon, O'Donnell and Lyons could diminish the attractiveness of working as a frontline civil servant by slashing the number of 'good bureaucrats', a new...
Britain's two largest teaching unions are this week embarking on the search for new general secretaries following the death of one and the impending retirement of the other.
Hospital consultants must stand up to 'bullying' tactics from Whitehall and work only the hours for which they are paid, the British Medical Association said this week.
