Ministers should undertake a thorough financial analysis of all new responsibilities handed to schools and guarantee funding for indirect costs such as new buildings, the National Union of Teachers...
The number of staff employed by Scottish local authorities has broken through the 250,000 barrier, provoking predictable claims of bureaucracy overload.
The explicit efficiency targets for local government, set out in Sir Peter Gershon's review, are to be relaxed in favour of a more 'flexible' approach to meeting the overall £6.45bn figure, Public...
Ministers are close to a final decision on a major cull of public sector inspectorates, but plans to merge up to 13 bodies into four is causing concern.
Too few children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities are being educated in mainstream schools despite government action, the school inspectorate said this week.
Tony Blair's vision of a radical reform of the welfare state during a third-term of Labour government, revealed this week, has been attacked by an influential think-tank.
Collective choice, co-payments and targeted procurement are likely to be at the heart of Labour's next manifesto, according to a former Cabinet minister close to Blairite thinking.
Sixty-two local authorities in 21 areas will take part in the first Local Area Agreements as Whitehall moved this week to rationalise funding and give councils a taste of new localism.
The battleground for the next general election was established this week as choice and the personalisation of public services, as the Labour Party began to flesh out its policies to 'empower' the...
The government will come under renewed pressure to announce a wholesale review of council housing investment after a deal to look at alternative funding options was abandoned on the eve of the Labour...
Whitehall's senior managers need to take drastic action to improve the rewards for top civil servants if they want to attract high-calibre applicants from the private sector.
A new tier of 'super-teachers' benefiting from financial incentives and specialist training should be created to teach at the most challenging schools, according to an influential committee of MPs.
Liberal Democrats have distanced themselves from proposals they fear could lead to a more market-driven approach in the key campaigning areas of health and education.
Scottish Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm has pledged that he will delay any new hospital closures until a national review group produces a health plan next March.
The public thinks more choice in public services is important. But the majority of people are not willing to pay more to get it, and they consider that it is needed in some services more than others.
London council leaders are calling for a more regional analysis of patterns of poverty to ensure that the government resources intended to tackle its accompanying problems are properly targeted.
Public service managers were this week challenged to put children's needs at the centre of their planning as the government published its blueprint for child-centred health and social care.
The government must develop a national family strategy to prevent pregnant workers from getting a raw deal, the Equal Opportunities Commission said this week.
Affordable early years education remains out of reach for too many families despite impressive levels of government investment, senior MPs said this week.
