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
The NHS is seen as being part of the 'greater good'. This provides much needed civic glue, but has been used too often as an excuse for inertia, complacency and false attachment to the status quo
After more than five years in the making, the Equality Act came into force today. The Act will effect public bodies as employers, but it could have a greater impact when it comes to decisions on...
The government will need to do a great deal more explaining as to how a Universal Credit would work and how much different groups of recipients will get if we are to have an informed debate on its...
Payment-by-results is becoming a coalition mantra, but a fog of scepticism still lingers. Will it lead organisations to focus on the lowest hanging fruit? Could it put small charities out of business?
Suffolk County Council is aiming to outsource almost all of its services to make budget savings of 30%. But it seems that the authority may have set an overly ambitious target