Unison leaders said they were confident that members would support the government's Agenda for Change programme on pay and conditions in the NHS, despite rumblings of a major revolt at next week's...
Council tenants wishing to buy their homes under the right to buy scheme will need to have lived in the house for five years instead of two in future, the government announced this week.
The...
Patients who are not satisfied with NHS trusts' handling of complaints will be able to ask the new Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (Chai) to undertake an independent review, health...
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment system is to undergo major reform before the next round of full local government inspections in three years' time.
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...
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...
Town hall leaders are to mount a campaign against government plans for foundation hospitals, claiming they could dilute their own democratic mandate.
As Public Finance went to press, the...
Government ministers should not commit themselves to meeting the targets set out in their departments' public service agreements (PSAs) because it is counterproductive, Estelle Morris has warned....
Violence and aggression against staff could be costing the NHS £69m a year, the National Audit Office said this week.
In a report, A safer place to work: protecting NHS hospital and ambulance staff...
Government proposals aimed at preventing the £29bn pensions 'timebomb' from exploding are not radical enough, ministers were warned this week.
Final submissions on Work and Pensions Secretary...
Manchester has become the first local authority to sign a contract to improve council housing directly through the Private Finance initiative.
The contract was signed on March 25 three and a half...
The government has moved to strip powers over the fire service from employers and the Fire Brigades Union as tempers frayed following the initial rejection of the latest pay offer.
The Deputy Prime...
Increases in spending on drugs threatens to destabilise primary care trusts and must be brought under control, the Audit Commission warned this week.
The alert came as the Liberal Democrats...
Scottish Education Minister Cathy Jamieson has used a local government conference to announce an extra £80m to guarantee full implementation of the McCrone agreement on teachers' workloads....
The London Borough of Southwark has dropped a legal action against Merrill Lynch Investment Managers over the performance of its £400m pension fund. The council confirmed on March 25 that it had...
Stock transfers have suffered a further blow after council tenants in Stockport voted against moving to a new housing association.
Stockport, which has just over 13,000 homes, was the largest urban...
New companies set up by high-performing councils to manage their housing are enjoying a cash windfall from the government.
Twelve months after the first eight arm's-length management organisations...
Local government leaders hit out at the government this week after Nick Raynsford demanded an explanation from authorities for the 'excessive' council tax increases that some have levied.
Local education authorities must act to tackle a 'very worrying' level of violence and abuse against teachers.
That was the message from Eamonn O'Kane, general secretary of the National Association...
Plans to bring US-style regeneration to Britain's city centres could be undermined by a row over funding.
From April 2004, Business Improvement Districts (Bids), credited with turning around the...
Education Secretary Charles Clarke has launched a £435m programme to provide children's centres in the most deprived parts of England.
The centres will offer childcare, nursery education, parenting...
London congestion charge supremo Derek Turner is to leave mayor Ken Livingstone's Transport for London only five weeks after the scheme's successful introduction amid rumours of management rows....
Widespread concern over the revised local authority grant formula led the government to stump up an additional £28m for schools this week, but ministers denied the cash boost had been influenced by...
New programmes for helping people who live in sheltered housing could be threatened by contractual rows between councils and landlords.
The National Housing Federation, which represents housing...
The British Medical Association and the NHS Confederation have been forced to revisit the funding formula for GP practices in the proposed new contract amid fears that family doctors could reject the...
