National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr is simply wrong to suggest that there is 'no evidence whatsoever’ to suggest that social housing damages the life-chances of many of those it...
There is growing speculation that the Government will scrap the Best Value Workforce Code. This places a statutory duty on local authorities to ensure that workforce issues are addressed in...
In this new world, Cabinet Committees become much more crucial than they have been for years. And the role of Lib Dem Secretaries of State on these bodies is really key.
The UK has a tax gap - a difference between the tax that should theoretically be yielded using the laws that are in place, and that which is actually collected
This week's calls from ministers to reduce unnecessary street signs, railings and advertising hoardings, the latest in a wealth of cost-saving announcements, reveal a potentially short-sighted...
Today's Institute for Fiscal Studies report showing that the austerity drive is going to hit the poor the hardest will only confirm to Gove and co the need to keep arguing that their education policy...
This week's GCSE celebrations - as with the A-level ones last week - will be muted somewhat by the lack of opportunities facing young people after they digest their results
City of London chamberlain and chair of the CIPFA local government panel discusses the challenges facing councils; protected areas of public spending; and the abolition of the Audit Commission.
PF blogger and head of local government at Unison discusses employee-owned public services; the impact of spending cuts on women; and the coalition government's record to date.
The latest cost-cutting idea is for speeding fines to be issued by private bodies. But we have to be careful that in the rush to deliver savings today we do not create even bigger problems tomorrow
One of the most disingenuous refrains coming from the coalition is the attempt to compare the UK with Greece, and suggest that unless brutal action is taken we will see interest rates soar as the...
There's no doubt the Audit Commission made a big mistake by employing a lobbying firm. But the subsequent decision by communities secretary Eric Pickles to abolish the watchdog seems both excessive...
So, the Audit Commission is to be abolished. The government had promised a bonfire of the quangos, but few thought the commission would be on the list. Perhaps we should now take more seriously...
News of the abolition of the Audit Commission came as a huge shock. The watchdog took some of the flak for the previous government's obsession with regulation, targets and performance measures. It...
Sir Philip Green has long wanted to run Marks & Spencer. Now he has the consolation prize - he gets to follow in the footsteps of a real M&S boss, Sir Derek Rayner, by becoming the coalition...
The news that Sir Philip Green has been appointed as the prime minister's efficiency czar may have annoyed Vince Cable, but it could cause as much angst to fellow ministers Michael Gove and Andrew...
The coalition has started remarkably well over its first 100 days, but there are big challenges in sustaining the early radical momentum and in winning the domestic political battle for the 'hearts...
The Fawcett Society is taking the government to court over what it believes are spending cuts that disproportionately affect women. Could others follow?
The Local Government Pension Scheme is distinct across the public sector as it is funded. Councils should consider reducing their deficit recovery contributions to pay for front-line services now
Slashing 15,000 jobs and 22% of the budget of the Ministry of Justice will have dire consequences for the Prison Service. Don't be surprised if the pressure cooker is pushed close to the point of...
Anyone who fondly imagined that slashing the deficit was purely a matter for public sector grief should take a look at this week's crop of official statistics. The Bank of England has downgraded its...
