The government has shelved controversial plans to produce estimates of public sector productivity as part of an overhaul of national accounting, Public Finance has learnt.
The NHS will improve on its 2005/06 deficit of £547m by just £110m, a Department of Health report has forecast, despite staff cutbacks and rationing of patient services.
A council heavily criticised in a watchdog report has become the first in Scotland to cut its council tax since local government was reorganised in 1996.
The man reviewing the UK's 'welfare to work' system will suggest a substantial transfer of responsibilities for long-term unemployed benefit recipients to the private and voluntary sectors.
Holyrood could face a radical shake-up after Scotland's May elections. So what difference would it make to public services? David Scott quizzes the key politicians
Seventeen of the first 26 academy schools commissioned under the government's controversial programme overspent their agreed capital budgets, the public spending watchdog has revealed.
Council and housing association tenants should be encouraged to buy as little as 10% of their homes as a first step towards full ownership, social landlords were told this week.
Scots council tax bills are to rise by less than the rate of inflation. A number of factors, including a generous funding settlement and fears of the impact at the ballot box, have all played a role
Whitehall's largest trade union is threatening to hijack the local elections in May by exposing candidates supporting the government's controversial civil service reform agenda.
A wide-ranging review of Prison Service finances could introduce damaging changes to staff pay and grading systems, Whitehall's largest trade union has warned.
It's the end of the line for a lot of regulatory red tape in local government as Peter Rogers prepares to slash more than 60 Whitehall-controlled areas down to five. He explains his role
Anti-nuclear campaigners this week accused Defence Secretary Des Browne of 'evasiveness' over the cost of the proposed Trident weapons replacement system.
Public sector pension funds have launched a campaign against inflation-busting bonuses for executives at US and multinational companies, using their substantial assets as leverage.
Most policies are made at a national level and do not reflect England's true economic geography, which is at city or council level. Local optimisation means there must be more local decision-making
Rural regeneration was once top of the in-tray at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. But other political priorities are preoccupying ministers, and public services in the...
Civil servants across the UK have begun a two-week overtime 'ban' after disrupting tax office, jobcentre and customs services this week with a 24-hour strike over job cuts, privatisations and pay.
'Thinking the unthinkable' is a term synonymous with New Labour's rather self-aggrandising approach to policy reform yet the reality is that some ministers have been marginalised for obliging with...
Improving access to English lessons is one of the most useful steps councils can take to ensure migrant workers are better integrated into their communities, the local government watchdog said this...
Despite record levels of investment, the public sector is seen to be in crisis. This is because services are suffering from having simplistic market models foisted on them, argues Unison's general...
Should the chief financial officer always be on a council's top management team? CIPFA's vice-president gives his views on the subject that has been exercising PF readers in recent weeks
Central government claims that there is no more money to fund adult social care 'ring hollow' as it is withholding an extra £1bn from the 2007/08 local government grant, councils have said.
The scale of the impending cutbacks in public spending have been starkly illustrated this week as independent experts warned that the government will have to choose between cutting child poverty and...
The lack of a final agreed budget for the 2012 Olympics presents a major risk to the successful delivery of the games, government auditors warned this week.
