There is always value in having a fresh pair of eyes to assess how things are done - and Sir Philip Green's recent report highlights many examples of waste in government spending
Much of the pre-Spending Review debate has been about which part of government will bear the brunt of the cuts. But how will the combination of tax rises and spending cuts impact on the UK economy...
Sir Philip Green has highlighted numerous examples of waste resulting from poor procurement practice across government. The big question that he does not address is how to put this right
Lord Browne has proposed that new institutions provide higher education. We may see bodies offering single degree subjects in a similar way to the independent sector treatment centres that...
There is a serious proposal on the table that the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland be reduced from the current 28% that it shares with the rest of the UK to the 12.5% rate that the Republic...
The publication of Lord Hutton's interim report into the future of public sector pensions was met with comment bordering on hysteria in certain quarters and some degree of entrenchment
Today's newspapers suggest that the cap on university tuition fees is likely to be completely removed, if Lord Browne has his way, paving the way for fees up to £12,000 a year
It is scarcely surprising that the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are unhappy about the planned scale of spending cuts. What is intriguing is to do with the timing and...
Why should the state provide financial incentives for mothers to stay at home if there is no clear evidence that this produces benefits? Surely this is a private choice for individual families
Councils can use their land and buildings to significantly boost their income. Andy Pack of GVA Grimley discusses how to do this in the first of a series of sponsored columns
Competition plays an important role in improving public services. Not only does it help eliminate inefficiency and waste, but it also prioritises customer satisfaction and holds all providers to...
It's not just 'the size of the cheque we give people' that matters, Prime Minister David Cameron told us this week in Birmingham. But as the coalition is rapidly finding out, it helps...
David Cameron says he has done away with sofa government and restored the role of the Cabinet. But the announcement on Child Benefit suggests this might not be as good as it sounds
Iain Duncan Smith's benefit reform proposals have been given the green light. Simplification of the system may be desirable, but it's difficult to see how it will save the exchequer any money in the...
The IMF and the OECD have both called on countries to do more to stimulate job creation. This government is banking on private sector growth to fill the jobs gap without a backup plan.
The man from Whitehall does not know what is best. It is absurd to think that correct decisions about public services in Barnsley, Bradford, Birmingham or Bristol can be made from an office in London
Suffolk County Council plans to transform itself and the relationship with its citizens by outsourcing swathes of its services and activities. By any standards this is bold and imaginative, but will...
Place-based budgeting is the next big thing on the coalition's localisation agenda. However, only by linking local funds to the benefits that community involvement can bring will we truly...
The Chancellor's announcement today that Child Benefit will be taken away from families with a higher-rate taxpayer in them is a step in the right direction. It is an example of a fair cut
