News

  • Public Finance
    17 Apr 03
    The London Borough of Ealing has had its Comprehensive Performance Assessment upgraded from 'weak' to 'fair' after the Audit Commission was forced to admit the authority had been wrongly evaluated.
  • Public Finance
    17 Apr 03
    The European Union's investigation into fraud in the Committee of the Regions, the body that represents Europe's local and regional government, is a 'storm in a teacup', a leading member claimed this...
  • Public Finance
    17 Apr 03
    Plans to create an all-powerful health service inspectorate were in chaos this week following the shock resignation of its chief executive elect. Peter Homa, who was appointed chief inspector of...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Government ministers have agreed to alter the Bill paving the way for regional assemblies to ensure referendum ballots have a separate question on the issue of local government reorganisation....
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Hopes have been raised for a resolution of the dispute over the proposed GP contract after a deal guaranteeing minimum incomes was struck this week. A ballot of the UK's family doctors was...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Moves to encourage home ownership should not make the same mistakes as the right to buy scheme by reducing properties available for rent, the chair of the Housing Corporation warned this week....
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Transport for London's new head of street management, Peter Hendy, opened a can of worms last week when he mused on whether local authorities would bother to introduce congestion charging if the...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Ian Pearson, Northern Ireland Office minister for economic policy and finance, has announced the members of the province's new Strategic Investment Board. The directors will be Nigel Hamilton, head...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Britain's largest teaching union has signalled its intention to take industrial action if the government pushes ahead with plans to allow unqualified staff to take classes. The National Union of...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Weaknesses in the Department for Work and Pensions' computer system hamper efforts to increase the take-up of benefits among elderly people, the Public Accounts Committee has said. Between £930m...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Lethargic planning departments will not be allowed to stand in the way of new housing in Southeast England, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has warned councils. He said: 'We can't be in a...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Thirty finalists have been selected by the judges of the Public Servants of the Year Awards to go forward to the final ceremony in London next month. The finalists come from all parts of the public...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Twenty-two luminaries from the world of local government are to scrutinise how Whitehall funds town halls, as the balance of funding review finally got under way this week. Local government...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    An attempt by some Unison activists to block the government's overhaul of the NHS pay system failed this week, although rank-and-file members will have the final say on whether the initiative goes...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Rail unions have reacted with dismay to revelations that firms involved in the controversial part-privatisation of the London Underground will be fined just £4m for major disruption on the network...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    The Home Office has rejected the key recommendation from an inspection of asylum seeker detention centres that children should not be held for longer than seven days. Chief inspector of prisons...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Gordon Brown opened a new front in the government's ongoing battles with trade unions this week when he used his Budget statement to indicate a move towards regional pay settlements.
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Local government minister Nick Raynsford this week provided further details of his long-awaited overhaul of councillors' allowances, giving authorities the chance to set their own remuneration deals...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Senior civil servants have warned ministers they will be 'extremely concerned' if the government does not accept the main findings of a Parliamentary report slamming the use of spin doctors across...
  • Public Finance
    10 Apr 03
    Government reform of unemployment services, announced in this week's Budget, could lead to 'widespread short-termism' across the sector, the leading civil servants' union has claimed. Officials at...
  • Public Finance
    3 Apr 03
    Former London Transport chair Denis Tunnicliffe has rejoined the rail sector as chair of the Rail Safety and Standards Board, which started work on April 1. It replaces Railway Safety, which was...
  • Public Finance
    3 Apr 03
    A West Country health authority faces a £59m deficit as a result of incompetent financial management, inspectors have found. A report from district auditor Stephen Malyn shows that the deficit...
  • Public Finance
    3 Apr 03
    The Liberal Democrats pledged to abolish council tax and replace it with a locally set income tax, as they launched their campaign on March 31 for the May council elections. Local government...
  • Public Finance
    3 Apr 03
    The government's transport policy is destined for failure unless it sets out its intentions on road pricing and presents a credible plan for cutting pollution and congestion, a committee of MPs has...
  • Public Finance
    3 Apr 03
    The Prison Service is missing out on potential savings because its procurement procedures are too fragmented, according to the National Audit Office. The public spending watchdog found that while...

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