In the wake of increasing concerns over ministerial patronage, the public administration select committee this week launched a wide-ranging inquiry into public appointments.
Council tax bills are to soar by an inflation-busting 8.1% on average, reflecting widespread fears among authorities that their budgets are being stretched to the limit.
Charles Kennedy is attempting to forge closer ties with the trade unions and exploit widespread disenchantment with the government's management of public services.
Health Secretary Alan Milburn has signalled a significant increase in social services spending in this summer's Spending Review but insisted it will be allied to 'radical' reforms, including the de...
Open government inched a step closer this week when the government finally accepted the recommendations of the Sharman report on audit and accountability in central government.
It was all going so well for Estelle Morris. The education secretary had spent the first nine months of her job basking in the warm glow of good relations with the teaching unions, her relaxed...
The long-running argument over the Area Cost Adjustment (ACA) is threatening to divide local government along north versus south lines, following high-level discussions with Whitehall officials this...
The government's drive for greater public involvement in the NHS is being hampered by primary care reorganisation and lack of funding, the King's Fund said this week.
Dithering by senior civil servants, including the current Cabinet secretary Sir Richard Wilson, allowed the controversial Teesside Development Corporation to run up debts of around £40m, an...
Relations between the teaching unions and Education Secretary Estelle Morris reached a new low this week after a bruising public battle left both sides refusing to change their position.
The architects of the controversial pension financial reporting standard (FRS) 17 this week told Public Finance that they were prepared to modify its implementation, as concern over its impact...
Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken his argument for a radical reshaping of the public services direct to frontline staff.
A 30-page pamphlet setting out Labour's vision for a more efficient public...
The government's plans to overhaul the Best Value regime and introduce comprehensive performance assessments (CPA) have been lambasted by an influential local government policy organisation.
The Liberal Democrats have declared their support for elected regional assemblies in England as a way of ending the 'quango culture' that has taken over public life.
The spectre of further legal action hung over the London Tube public-private partnership saga this week as Mayor Ken Livingstone complained he was still being fobbed off on his demand for crucial...
Guidelines that could add significantly to the demand for and cost of diabetes services in England and Wales were issued this week by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
A sense of commitment among public sector managers and staff is vital if services are to continue to improve, the Public Services Productivity Panel said this week.
