The British civil service has been criticised for a 'we know best' attitude and must learn from its international counterparts if it is to improve policy-making.
The break-up of the Home Office is being driven by counter-terrorist imperatives and political manoeuvring. It should make us nervous, argues Philip Johnston
CIPFA will be hosting an event at its Mansell Street offices on 3 November to mark 40 years since the publication of the Layfield report into local government finance, including contributions from...
A leading public finance expert has criticised the Scottish National Party's plans for a local income tax, claiming they are based on shaky financial assumptions that would create a significant...
One of Gordon Brown's first moves as chancellor was to outsource responsibility for interest rates to the Monetary Policy Committee. So should he go further and create an independent body to oversee...
Regardless of press speculation, the Lyons report has not been consigned to the dustbin. In fact, it kickstarts the debate on reform, focusing first on the short-term decisions that ministers must...
NHS primary care trusts have hit back at local authorities, claiming that they too are the victims of 'cost-shunting' as social care cuts have increased demand for NHS services.
An influential Scottish Parliament committee has criticised the standard of information given by ministers on the financial consequences of legislation.
Northern Ireland council workers take on average more than three days extra sickness absence per year than their equivalents in England and Wales, a report from the Northern Ireland Audit Office has...
Campaigners have reacted angrily to news that the number of children living in relative poverty has risen in spite of the government's pledge to halve the total by 2010.
Overspending NHS trusts will no longer face deductions from their resource allocations as the Department of Health has moved to change the rule two days before the end of the financial year.
Sir Michael Lyons and ministers this week united in an upbeat defence of local government reform in the face of widespread disappointment from town hall leaders, who fear many of Lyons' major...
Politicians suffer from myopia and tunnel vision they look only to the short term and take a blinkered view of the issue in hand. This is a sentiment with which many people would agree.
The Budget confirmed how much or little the Comprehensive Spending Review will have to play with. Whatever juggling goes on, something's got to give. But which government pledge will it be?
The revolution in shared services might be slow in coming, but it will inevitably affect local authorities. This is the ideal time, argues John Thornton, for councils to review and update their...
Gordon Brown has been accused of 'sneaking out' the news that the Comprehensive Spending Review will be delayed until the autumn and of trying to 'close down' a public debate over its conclusions.
All children should be able to attend good schools, or at least have an equal opportunity of doing so. But that's not the case at present. The controversial new code of admissions aims to even the...
More than £12bn of public funds is spent every year on support for small business but to what effect? A Conservative Party task force found the programmes to be ineffective, bureaucratic and...
Last week's draft Climate Change Bill shows the UK government is serious about tackling global warming. But it needs to go even further, argues Stuart Williams
The chancellor has paved the way for the majority of Private Finance Initiative schemes to be brought on to the public sector balance sheet a move that could jeopardise his sustainable investment...
Benefits need to be made available for all disabled children and taken up by more families if the government is to eradicate child poverty by 2020, a leading think-tank has warned.
