The council of riot-torn Oldham is being forced to slash services or raise council tax rates by as much as 20% to limit the damage that overspending is inflicting on its financial reserves.
Pressure to reduce operation waiting times is forcing consultants to treat non-urgent patients at the expense of those needing more serious surgery, the National Audit Office has confirmed.
This week's damning report into the deaths of children at the Bristol Royal Infirmary is the first of four inquiries into the health service's handling of complaints against doctors.
The simmering hostility between the trade unions and the government over the 'privatisation' of the public sector broke out into open warfare this week.
The GMB, the country's fourth largest union...
In what has been described as a 'near revolutionary' step, the government has reopened the debate on the unfunded police and fire pension schemes and raised the possibility of meeting pension costs...
Seven of the leading professional associations in local government have agreed a set of principles in response to Prime Minister Tony Blair's 'reform or bust' speech this week.
The prospect of a protracted legal battle over the future of the Tube grew this week after Ken Livingstone admitted he was likely to appeal if the High Court kicked out his bid to stop the government...
The mother of all parliaments is having a difficult time with some of her more unruly offspring.
Rebellious MPs are defying parental authority and, echoing the cry of teenagers everywhere,...
The Strategic Rail Authority must set 'more demanding' targets for improvements when its strategic plan for the railways is published in the autumn, the Commons Public Accounts Committee has demanded...
Nurses and health care assistants involved in pioneering work on aromatherapy, horticultural therapy and coronary care for Asian women have been recognised in the first Prince of Wales Awards for...
The government is to push ahead with plans for school reform despite stalling its much-trailed education white paper because of concerns about privatisation and the contentious issue of single-faith...
The campaign for elected mayors took one leap forward then a large step back this week after residents in Watford voted yes to a US-style boss, only to find that slow work by Parliament will put back...
Local Government Secretary Stephen Byers has pledged to forge a new relationship between central and local government by slashing bureaucracy and giving authorities greater financial freedom.
Risk management can have a major impact on councils' progress in achieving strategic objectives and is not a 'one-off exercise', the Audit Commission has warned.
Birmingham City Council is setting a precedent in housing transfers by asking lenders to underwrite loans worth £1bn before it consults tenants over the move.
Peter Mandelson has outlined a vision of English devolution that puts 'people before structures' and gives communities the tools to bring about their own renaissance.
Hopes that a new GP contract will be agreed soon rose this week after Health Secretary Alan Milburn invited the NHS Confederation to lead the discussions on behalf of health service employers.
An £8.5m capital programme to build 22 new children's homes in Northern Ireland has been announced by the province's Health and Social Services Minister, Bairbre de Brún.
