Monthly Archives: May 2011

Electric dreams

31 May 2011 | Alan Edwards

With CO2 emissions reaching record levels perhaps it’s time for the NHS to get in the driving seat and convert its non-emergency vehicles to electric power Read more

Tags: | | | Comment

Something old, something blue

31 May 2011 | Maurice Glasman

Labour’s answer to David Cameron’s Big Society is the Good Society. So what would it mean in practice? Read more...

Tags: | | | | | | Comment

The PF website: a modern makeover

27 May 2011 | Mike Thatcher

It’s not only Public Finance magazine that has had a makeover in recent weeks and months. Our website, publicfinance.co.uk, has been given a more modern look to help showcase the regularly updated content. Read more

Tags: | | Comment

Cuts, consultation and care

27 May 2011 | Linda Walker

Birmingham Council’s legal defeat over care cuts has consequences for other local authorities that do not follow procedures correctly or fail to consult Read more

Tags: | | | 1 comment

Labour’s hidden legacy

26 May 2011 | David Walker

The Conservatives have managed to convince the public that the previous government spent wildly and excessively. But some of Labour’s projects, such as one-to-one teaching, can be shown to have been cost effective in the longer term Read more

Tags: | | | | | | Comment

Tax devolution: devil in the detail

25 May 2011 | Alan Trench

The Commons Northern Ireland Committee is broadly supporting the idea of devolving corporation tax. But it’s quite extraordinary that such a proposition can have got as far as it has without anyone having sensible figures for the amounts of tax involved Read more

Tags: | | | Comment

Finding funds for a better future

25 May 2011 | Graham Allen

The chair of the Early Intervention Review calls for more investment to help children flourish in later life. He discusses some options – such as bonds, Isas and extended prudential borrowing – ahead of a report for the prime minister Read more

Tags: Comment

Gut instinct vs Gaap

25 May 2011 | Alan Finch

It’s increasingly obvious that humans are emotional and irrational. So what does this mean for the hyper-rational, super-logical world of public sector financial management? Read more

Tags: | | | 1 comment

Salmond’s leap into the unknown

24 May 2011 | Iain Macwhirter

The SNP’s landslide victory in the Scottish parliamentary elections will have ramifications that go far beyond Scotland’s borders Read more...

Tags: | | 1 comment

The ministers we deserve

24 May 2011 | Zoe Gruhn

In a very British way we all take for granted that ministers and, indeed, governments come and go. It’s just the way things happen. And yet, do we ever stop and think whether we could do things better than this? The Institute for Government’s latest report, The challenge of being a minister, finds that most ministers in the UK get only just over two years to prove themselves in a job before being moved on. Read more...

Tags: | | | 1 comment