GILL HUNTER | It’s been a busy week for fans of public service reform. The combination of Wednesday’s Pre-Budget Report (PBR) and Monday’s paper Putting the frontline first is the closest we are...
COLIN TALBOT | The central message of yesterday’s PBR was that we need to put the national finances in order, but not quite yet – in fact not for quite a long time. That does not mean there will not...
JOHN APPLEBY | Revenge and justice are satisfied as bankers get a big boot in their bonuses - contributing a few steps on the long march to plugging the government’s debt gap. But something a bit...
ED COX | Gordon Brown’s speech this week on smarter government was the product of two political imperatives, which, in combination, create an attractive win-win that all parties are keen to seize
In today’s PBR, the Chancellor will likely announce further upward revisions to the record borrowing projections for this year. The Government’s fiscal rules were already looking thread-bare at the...
CHRIS LESLIE | Given the impending general election, it would not be unreasonable for the seasoned observer to strike a note of cynicism in response to the barrage of announcements from politicians...
ANNA DIXON | The NHS is entering a new era. After years of relative plenty, the health service faces a period of austerity and a ‘perfect storm’ of rising costs and growing demand fuelled by an...
JUDY HIRST | Don’t work longer, or harder. Work smarter. This favourite bit of management-speak has finally risen to the top of ministerial in-trays and is being regurgitated all over the show
ROB OLDHAM | Conservative proposals to transfer public sector property to a new company are all about incentives – incentives to release space and sell surplus assets
HEATHER WAKEFIELD | Inadequate funding of home care will make the laudable aims of the National Care Service unattainable. The poor treatment of the workforce will undermine the need to raise...
STEVE FREER | Getting real alignment of political and management agendas is one of the critical challenges that needs to be addressed ahead of any large cuts programmes
TONY DOLPHIN | Politicians are prioritising plans to reduce the budget deficit in the run-up to the election. But they should hold off major spending cuts until growth picks up
MIKE THATCHER | Christine Gilbert had a glimpse this week of what it’s like to be berated for poor performance and to have your apparent failings dissected by what were once known as Fleet Street’s...
CONOR RYAN | Today's Ofsted annual report has both good and bad news. There has been a substantial increase in the number of 'good' and 'outstanding' schools - the equivalent of 1800 extra good...
INSTITUTE FOR FISCAL STUDIES | One of the 13 bills in the recent Queen's Speech was the Child Poverty Bill, carried over from the previous Parliamentary Session.
