Jack McConnell's ruthless Cabinet reshuffle is a political gamble which could rebound on Scotland's new first minister if his inexperienced appointees fail to deliver, according to a leading...
A promising start, but must try harder: that is the message from education professionals to the secretary of state Estelle Morris after her government's long-awaited Education Bill was published last...
Chancellor Gordon Brown propelled the debate on the future funding of the National Health Service to the top of the political agenda as he announced a £1bn boost in spending for next year in his pre-...
English local authorities could be up to £200m better off after local government minister Nick Raynsford unveiled plans to scrap the council tax discount for second-home owners.
Lottery funding body Sport England this week hit back at claims that its former chief executive received a 'secret' payoff of £500,000 when he left his post in June.
Regional rail services look set to move back into public sector control with ministers preparing to give major cities a key role in managing local train networks.
Civil servants across Whitehall are confused about who their 'customers' are, with many considering ministers their main focus for policy, a government-sponsored report reveals.
The chief executive of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has accused the Audit Commission of costing the taxpayer 'hundreds of thousands of pounds by producing 'unusable' inspection reports.
Local authorities are to be given clear guidance from the government on how much low-cost housing they should demand from developers under the system of 'planning gain'.
Bob Kiley, the transport commissioner for London, told Public Finance this week that the proposed controversial public-private partnership for the Tube was close to falling through.
The Welsh Assembly's finance minister has defended in resolute terms the decision to 'rebadge' Best Value and dilute the role of external inspection in the principality.
Social housing needs billions of pounds more in funding from 2003/04 onwards to tackle social regeneration and to provide 20,000 extra homes per year, the government was told this week.
MPs have called for a dedicated minister for events to co-ordinate major sporting projects and other large-scale schemes in response to the 'mess' made of Britain's attempt to host the 2005 World...
Wendy Thomson, head of the Office for Public Service Reform in the Cabinet Office, has thrown her weight behind the idea of a genuine and extensive transfer of powers to local service deliverers, in...
One hundred NHS trusts are generating a turnover of £10m as part of the health service's latest money-spinning idea, the Department of Health said this week.
Northern Ireland's health service has been thrown into crisis by a cash shortage, according to Dr Joe Hendron, chair of the Assembly's health committee.
The Private Finance Initiative has so far failed in its mission to increase substantially investment in Britain's public services, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The Association of Police Authorities (APA) has launched a four-pronged self-assessment and continuous improvement programme under the auspices of Best Value.
A research study commissioned by the Treasury to test the effectiveness of public-private partnerships ran into trouble this week when it was accused of partiality.
Prejudice in central government circles against the ability of councils to deliver service improvement helped derail Best Value in Wales, according to one of the principality's most prominent local...
NHS managers are flocking to unions in the wake of growing concerns that they are being made unnecessary 'scapegoats' for failures in health, according to the FDA.
Members of the panel overseeing the government's review of Best Value were still being appointed as it prepared to meet for the first time last week, Public Finance has learned.
