One in four councils has been running education and social services so badly that central government has had to intervene, and more cases could be on the way, according to the Audit Commission.
The normally moderate head teachers are set on a collision course with the government over performance-related pay after deciding to ballot on industrial action in the next week.
Government rent reforms are failing to tackle demand problems on housing estates because they focus too heavily on earnings rather than property values, housing professionals were told this week.
Local authority tenants who voted against taking part in a Private Finance Initiative scheme are to be consulted again over plans to spend £45m improving their homes.
Fraud investigators are to be appointed throughout England in response to the mounting number of complaints being received by the Learning and Skills Council.
At first glance, there is little to connect the near riot by supposed anarchists outside Barcelona's Palau de Congressos convention centre at the European Union summit last weekend and the serene,...
The National Probation Service is seeking to recruit 1,000 trainee probation officers through a campaign that also aims to increase the number of ethnic minority members of staff.
The Private Finance Initiative deal to build the Channel Tunnel rail link was 'fundamentally flawed' because it relied on over-optimistic passenger forecasts and cushioned shareholders against risk,...
Unison leaders will meet next week to discuss government plans to ensure ancillary workers in privately financed hospitals continue to be employed by the NHS.
The government this week launched its pilot performance-related pay scheme for health workers at Frimley Park hospital in Surrey, despite continued opposition from unions.
Labour is no closer to ending homelessness after new figures showed another rise in the number of people being housed by English councils in emergency accommodation.
Chancellor Gordon Brown this week prepared the ground for his widely anticipated tax rises to pay for the NHS, but warned that any spending commitments must be matched by rapid improvements in...
More than a million extra homes must be built in the next 20 years if Britain is to avoid a major shortage of affordable housing, according to a report published this week.
Almost six months to the day since Stephen Byers announced his review of Best Value to assuage union concerns about workers' rights in outsourcing deals, progress has ground to a halt.
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...
