Auditor general Bob Black used last week's CIPFA Scottish branch conference to defend his controversial policy of not naming councils and NHS trusts that have performed badly in audit reports.
Public services need to take a systematic approach to quality and should consider introducing peer group assessment to judge how standards have improved, CIPFA's chief executive told delegates at the...
The government has opened the multi-million pound schools' IT market to a wider range of private companies, including Internet developers and film-makers, to try to increase competition and raise...
The NHS is struggling to cope with demand for diabetes services and faces a rising number of patients as the population ages, the Audit Commission warned this week.
Councils must be given 'freedom and flexibility' to help deliver the government's ten-year strategy to renew deprived neighbourhoods, the Local Government Association warned this week.
London Transport's chief executive has admitted to MPs that London Underground would still face a 'funding gap' if the proposed £8bn public-private partnership went ahead.
Software supplier Microsoft and management consultant the Barony Group have launched a blueprint to help local authorities reach the government's targets for electronic delivery of services.
Health Secretary Alan Milburn launched a countrywide consultation programme with NHS staff and patients this week and said it should lead to a new Beveridge report that will shape the health service...
The Ministry of Defence claimed this week it was on target to meet its Public Service Agreement of delivering £700m worth of receipts by 2002 from the sale of its surplus assets.
A committee of MPs has castigated the NHS Executive for its failure to manage investment in IT projects and warns that without a major 'sea change' its £1bn strategy will not deliver value for money.
Scotland's largest public-private partnership scheme to rebuild Glasgow's secondary schools would not have been affordable without additional government funding, the city's finance director told...
The government launched a stinging attack on the quality of adoption services this week in what could be the first move to loosen local authorities' grip on social services.
The government has offered high-performing councils a 'third way' to hang on to housing stock, as registered social landlords were put on course to become the dominant housing providers by 2004.
The slow and painful negotiations to shore up the ailing Pimlico School PFI deal have been given a new lease of life with a last-minute extension of the credit allocation for the project.
The finance director of the largest local authority in England has questioned the value-for-money justification for public-private partnerships and admitted that she has doubts about the cost...
The government has reacted strongly to an Audit Commission report which says disabled people are facing long waits for equipment that is often sub-standard or even useless.
The Inland Revenue may be compromising its independence by working too closely with the private contractor EDS on a ten-year outsourcing deal, the National Audit Office has warned.
Housing associations should not overstretch themselves by 'dabbling' in too many new activities, according to the chief executive of one of London's largest registered social landlords.
Money meant for frontline council services is being used to fund an ever-burgeoning local government pension bill instead. Local authorities in England and Wales spent almost £2bn in 1998/99 on...
The Ministry of Defence failed to maximise value for money in its £612m telecommunications system under the Private Finance Initiative, the National Audit Office has found.
The government signalled further expansion of the health service telephone helpline NHS Direct this week after a study found it had lifted some of the pressure on out-of-hours GP services.
