Local councils could be forced to delve deep into their reserves to shore up their employees' pension funds despite the government's insistence that an actuarial review of the market will uncover few...
Audit Commission controller Sir Andrew Foster has revealed plans to work with a Welsh local authority to develop its much-vaunted new model for Best Value inspections.
Enlargement of the European Union is now vital to the security of member states following the events of September 11, members of the Committee of the Regions were told this week.
The Local Government Association has declared its 'emphatic' opposition to any attempt by the government to ring-fence local authorities' education budgets.
The chair of the new regulatory body for councillors pledged to restore the public's faith in local politics as the organisation was officially launched on November 6.
Pressure is mounting on ministers to introduce rent capping to protect tenants from large increases as social landlords get to grips with rent restructuring.
Voter apathy has reached crisis point and the government must take urgent action to resuscitate democracy in Britain, senior backbench MPs urged this week.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has insisted it is not being marginalised despite a government decision to launch a large-scale clinical trial of multiple sclerosis drugs that Nice had...
Children placed in bed and breakfast accommodation because their family is homeless are missing out on important health checks, the government told local authorities this week.
Local authorities need to address the failings rampant in the administration of housing benefit as poor management is causing hardship for claimants, according to the Audit Commission.
The political future of Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish was under threat this week as a police investigation began into what he called an 'error' over income received from a tenant for space...
Pressure is mounting on the Treasury to come clean on how public spending is officially defined in the wake of the Railtrack collapse and allegations that it disguised projected spending increases as...
Councils in Northern Ireland are threatening to take legal action against the soon-to-be-appointed first minister and deputy first minister if they are not consulted over nominations to Europe's...
The Local Government Association has demanded assurances that the government's shake-up of the asylum system will include funding for services provided by councils.
The government's review of Best Value could escalate the costs of delivering council services, raising the spectre of future cuts in vulnerable areas, it has emerged.
Anecdotal stories of accident victims having to wait hours for treatment were effectively confirmed this week by an Audit Commission report that showed waiting times in hospital accident and...
Local authority trade unions have rejected outright employers' demands to give up their right to unilateral arbitration to resolve pay talks, raising the spectre of another bitter dispute this year.
Two London boroughs are considering creating neighbourhood-level service commissioning bodies, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research which is advising them.
Central government must invest in the voluntary sector if it wants to see more not-for-profit organisations involved in the delivery of public services, according to one of the sector's leaders.
A new 'star ratings' system is to be introduced for England's 150 social services departments, with rewards for the best performers and punishments for the worst.
