Public bodies providing local services should be able to opt out of implementing new policies if central government has not provided adequate funding, according to a think-tank.
The new beefed-up version of the Audit Commission should be able to stop other inspectorates from poring over council services if it feels it is unnecessary, ministers are proposing.
Lord Turner's suggested remedies for Britain's retirement crisis could cost taxpayers an additional £20bn putting ministers under renewed pressure to withdraw the recent deal to protect public...
The Home Office's finance director has urged caution in Whitehall's drive to professionalise its skills base warning senior staff not to shift roles too quickly simply to meet new training...
The Home Office's finance chief is bringing a professional accounting approach to Whitehall at a time when it is under most pressure. She talks to Mark Conrad
The British civil service is rightly admired throughout the world, and yet everyone wants to 'reform' it. Tony Travers considers the skills that are needed for the thoroughly modern mandarin
A single police force covering the whole of Wales could lead to more effective crime-fighting, the chief constable of South Wales told delegates at the CIPFA in Wales annual conference in Cardiff.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is struggling to meet the expectations of British travellers and expatriates because of its unpredictable, shoestring budget, a report from the National Audit...
Social care minister Liam Byrne has taken the first step towards giving elderly and disabled people budgets to buy their own care services, with the launch of 13 pilot schemes this week.
The Metropolitan Police Authority has submitted its draft budget to London Mayor Ken Livingstone at the start of the Met's most difficult funding round for years.
Prime Minister Tony Blair this week rejected criticisms that he hindered Whitehall transparency by refusing to allow his strategy adviser Lord Birt to be questioned by a Commons committee.
As Sir Peter Burt's committee reviews the options for a fairer local government funding system in Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council is arguing for local income tax. Charles Armstrong explains why
Voluntary sector bodies are not just talking about public service provision. They're successfully delivering it. So why is the government so slow to back up the Third Sector with long-term contracts...
Town halls in Scotland are preparing to impose council tax increases well in excess of inflation, despite First Minister Jack McConnell's insistence on an average of no more than 2.5%.
Further education has been a 'forgotten middle child'. But now Sir Andrew Foster's wide-ranging review could give the £5bn sector a new mission to get the nation ready for work. Joseph McHugh asks...
Reorganised primary care trusts will go through a 'fitness for purpose' test similar to the assessment of foundation trust applicants, NHS chief executive Sir Nigel Crisp said last week.
A new hospital assessment tool, launched by the Department of Health this week, will be the catalyst for 'radical change' and possible service cuts, Public Finance has been told.
As Prime Minister Tony Blair lost a hotly debated Commons vote on the controversial plan to detain terrorist suspects for 90 days, the row escalated over who will pay for the anti-terror measures...
Will the chancellor manage again to use his Treasury black arts to keep within his economic rules, or will he now have to admit that his forecasts were optimistic? The forthcoming Pre-Budget Report...
Choosing spending priorities involves some tough, painful and invariably unpopular decisions. Harrow decided to put its residents in the hot seat and invigorate democracy in the process. Maria McHale...
Rhodri Morgan is every bit as evangelical as Tony Blair when it comes to improving public services. But Wales is taking a very different route from Westminster. Steve Davies reports on public sector...
Councils that demonstrate the most imagination will be best placed to take advantage of the government's new local regeneration funds, a Treasury minister said last week.
Central and local government have agreed to patch up their differences and work together to try to keep council tax rises low following angry exchanges earlier in the week.
As the Local Government Association in England locked horns with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister over the forthcoming financial settlement, Welsh councils have already been told how much...
