Six cities have been named by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell as contenders to be European Capital of Culture 2008, the year in which Britain is guaranteed the title.
Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff,...
The effect of Home Secretary David Blunkett's latest attempt to combat Britain's rapidly growing prison population is 'a drop in the ocean' and should be accompanied by wholesale reform of the...
John Prescott was this week unveiling long-awaited planning reforms just as his housing minister firmly indicated that Labour had failed to meet its affordable housing objectives.
Naïve housing associations are rushing into risky deals over key worker accommodation, a leading lender said this week.
Malcolm Kitchener, a general manager at Nationwide Building Society,...
Schools could soon be hosting health and social services, citizens' advice bureaux and even post offices under a pilot scheme to extend their use in the community.
Schools minister Cathy Ashton...
Crucial parts of government plans for housing finance need to go back to the drawing board, according to the Local Government Association.
In the consultation paper, The way forward for housing...
The Treasury's reforms of the 'green book' herald a new era of rigorous investment appraisal throughout the public sector, according to two influential think-tanks.
Gordon Brown's root-and-branch...
The Audit Commission will not take into account local authorities' financial resources or levels of deprivation when grading them under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, it has confirmed....
The independent review into the fire service will not be rushed into reporting early, its chair told Public Finance this week as ministers and the TUC scrambled for a solution to halt the impending...
The government's plans for individual learning accounts were rushed through with no proper quality assurance or security systems in place, according to the National Audit Office.
The public...
The government 'remains committed' to having elected US-style mayors running town halls, even though Labour was beaten in three of last week's four contests.
The party lost control of traditional...
The wrong kind of sand and 'unexpectedly hot' conditions in a desert were among excuses that embarrassed military officials this week provided for a bungled exercise to test British troops'...
Senior MPs were this week critical of news that the partner of a senior Labour minister is the front-runner to chair the Audit Commission.
Members of the Commons' public administration select...
The National Audit Office has praised the Home Office's victim support scheme for helping 1.4 million people every year.
But, in a report published on October 23, it regrets that the rate at which...
'I hope he's got a way out of this,' a sceptical union leader muses of his colleague Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union. Gilchrist's 50,000 members are poised for the first...
CPA is too inflexible, IDA admits
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment is too inflexible, according to the acting executive director of the Improvement and Development Agency.
John O'Brien...
NHS managers have given a surprisingly strong vote of confidence in the Private Finance Initiative's ability to deliver quality, modern facilities for the health service, according to a survey from...
Senior figures at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister this week said they were 'open to any suggestions' that would improve the supply of affordable housing.
Appearing before the Commons' urban...
Teaching unions are deeply divided over government plans to cut teachers' workloads by employing 50,000 new classroom assistants.
Education and Skills Secretary Estelle Morris announced proposals...
The Commons' Public Administration Select Committee is to launch a wide-ranging inquiry into the effects of targets and league tables on the public services.
Too many social service departments are failing to provide well for their clients, according to a new report from inspectors. Sixteen of the 30 councils that have had their social services reviewed...
Up to one-third of homes owned by registered social landlords need to be improved to meet the decent homes standard, according to two new studies by the Housing Corporation.
Local authorities have vowed to step up the campaign to wrest more freedoms from Whitehall, despite the Treasury embracing a 'new localism' for decision-making.
Public and private sector reaction to accounting scandals such as Enron and WorldCom gathered pace this week, with changes to the provision of non-audit services high on the profession's reform...
