The part-privatisation of Britain's air traffic services became an 'appalling mess' because the government failed adequately to test the financial durability of the project, MPs claimed this week.
NHS trusts that are developing Private Finance Initiative projects should not place 'undue emphasis' on demonstrating savings against a Treasury-funded project, the National Audit Office said this...
Local authorities could raise an extra £65m under new government proposals to end the automatic entitlement to a 50% council tax discount for second homes.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council is failing to tackle racial strife in the aftermath of last year's riots because of management weaknesses, says the Audit Commission.
England's pensioners missed out on almost £1.9bn last year, largely because the government failed to inform them of the range of benefits available, according to the National Audit Office.
A 'spasm of anti-centralism' since Labour came to power has threatened universal standards and equality of access to public services, according to a Left-wing think tank.
The prime minister has pledged that all primary and secondary schools will have high-speed Internet access by 2006 as part of a £6bn information technology spend over the next three years.
Home Secretary David Blunkett this week played down claims that he is creating a national police force, despite unveiling centrally determined priorities for local forces.
Further education colleges are to receive an extra £1.2bn in funding over the next three years but resources will be dependent on reaching performance targets, Education Secretary Charles Clarke...
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment is the 'model of the future' for inspecting and improving public services, the new chair of the Audit Commission has said.
Private developers cannot be relied upon to build the thousands of affordable homes needed in the Southeast and other parts of England, housing professionals were told this week.
The Improvement and Development Agency has appointed the colourful and often controversial chief executive of Camden, Steve Bundred, as its new executive director.
The government does not take the issue of fraud seriously and has failed to introduce even the most basic preventative measures, according to maverick MP Frank Field.
Government plans to free only the best NHS trusts from Whitehall control and to penalise councils that fail to tackle bed-blocking have been criticised by health service managers.
'They are going up the Swanee if someone doesn't give them money,' Mayor Ken Livingstone is reported to have said last weekend of PFI contractors Amey and WS Atkins, leading players in the public-...
Tony Blair's big political ideas for the next 12 months have drawn immediate criticism following their unveiling at the state opening of Parliament this week.
A £200m 'challenge fund' set up by the government to encourage housing associations to provide more affordable homes in Southeast England has been five times oversubscribed.
The Scottish trade unions and the Executive this week agreed an 'employment protocol' on the two-tier workforce, while English unions wait patiently for news of their promised review.
Social services are on the verge of collapse, despite the government's promise of a 6% increase in spending in each of the next three years, the King's Fund said this week.
Local authorities were examining their plans for dealing with emergencies this week in the wake of Prime Minister Tony Blair's appeal for a heightened state of awareness in the face of potential...
The private sector must be realistic about its potential return from public-private partnerships and must deliver on budget, Office of Government Commerce chief executive Peter Gershon said this week.
Local government employers are urgently seeking to restart talks over the fire dispute after fire crews staged their first 48-hour walkout on November 13 14.
The controller of the Audit Commission has urged councils to pressurise the government to ensure that it delivers on a promise to offer greater freedoms to top-performing authorities.
Paul Boateng has lashed out angrily at the CBI after it accused the government of hitting business with a £47bn tax bill to pay for improvements to public services.
