Employers and the Fire Brigades Union were effectively given a deadline of three months to negotiate a strike settlement or face a loss of substantial power as the patience of the government finally...
Senior backbench MPs have condemned as 'false and spurious' the public sector comparators used to test the value for money of Private Finance Initiative deals.
Public sector absenteeism has risen markedly in the past year, according to a report published this week, encouraging new claims that the sector is rife with stressed, overworked personnel.
Council tenants, trade unionists and councillors descended on Westminster this week to increase pressure on ministers to give local authorities the same rights as housing associations.
Gordon Brown's public sector spending plans were dealt a potential blow this week when it was revealed that the chancellor had exceeded his £20bn annual borrowing forecasts with three months left of...
The government is coming under increasing pressure to launch a wide-ranging review of the Private Finance Initiative, following the publication of last week's critical Audit Commission report into...
Talks were due to resume on January 23, with sources expecting them to spill over to the following day in an attempt to avert a 48-hour strike scheduled for January 28. The union held a 24-hour...
The row over the 'two-tier workforce' has been reignited with the government postponing publication of its long-awaited employment code after both unions and the private sector accused ministers of...
Simpler audit processes for grants claimed by councils and the National Health Service could save the Audit Commission up to £6m a year, it said in proposals this week.
Fraud inspectors have slammed Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council for failing to rectify long-term problems in its housing and council tax benefits divisions, despite previous warnings about the...
Education Secretary Charles Clarke's plan for the reform of higher education will create a two-tier system that constrains the very people the government intended to benefit the most, according to...
The finance director who says he was sacked by St George's Healthcare NHS Trust in London for whistle-blowing has lost his first attempt to win his job back.
NHS trusts will get the double boost of fewer inspections from Royal Colleges and an increase in consultant numbers under a groundbreaking deal announced this week.
The government's foundation trust initiative could restore the divisions of the internal market by creating well-funded elite hospitals that poach the best staff, the British Medical Association...
Voluntary organisations have slammed the troubled Criminal Records Bureau for providing a poor service. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations said its members had 'an extreme lack of...
Local government leaders and ministers will shortly agree the terms of reference for the long-awaited balance of funding review, allowing work finally to get under way.
