[Feature in Public Servant] Just how transparent and open can our political parties claim to be when they have yet to come clean about their tax and spend proposals? Colin Talbot argues for some honest answers before an election Transparency seems to be the current “in” word in British politics. And yet we could be […]

Today it has been announced that Harrow Council (London) has dropped a Court case being brought against a mother who tried to get her child into a popular school by allegedly falsifying information (she claimed to be living at her mother’s which was in the School catchment area, rather than her family home, which wasn’t). […]

The answer to the question posed in the previous post: the BBC had got it wrong. The education white paper published today makes it clear there will be not legal enforcement available to parents:

This morning BBC Radio news is reporting that today’s Education White Paper will set legally enforceable rights. Either the Beeb has got it wrong, or this is the fastest U-turn in history – or maybe the Government is just in another muggle.

Today I have heard several reporters on the BBC, not to mention various print journalists, getting over excited about the ‘gaff’ by Lord Mandelson ‘admitting’ there was not going to be a Spending Review this year, or this side of a General Election – shock, horror!

So, now we have the detail of the new “entitlements” approach – well, sort of. The government have published ‘Building Britain’s Future’ but frankly we’re not much more enlightened than we were before.

A new Prime Minister takes over towards the end of a long period of his party being in power. He replaces a charismatic and controversial, but highly successful in electoral terms, predecessor. His government is becoming increasingly unpopular and an election is looming. What new policy wheeze can he come up with on public services […]

For those who are interested the UK weekly magazine Public Finance have just re-launched their website, including a new blogging facility to which I’m contributing original entries like this one about Speaker Bercow which are not posted here (Whitehall Watch).

The Public Administration Select Committee today publishes its report (and evidence sessions) on Good Government. I have reproduced the main recommendations below, their analysis is well worth reading. Especially pleasing is that they have accepted my proposal (see section 5 of the Report) that the remit of the National Audit Office be expanded to something […]