Personal information put at risk by soft approach to data leaks
Serious breaches of the Data Protection Act will continue to occur as long as warnings and guidance fail to find an audience, says Jonathan Baines
March 2013
Best practice exchange 2012
Less is more in local scrutiny
This year's Good Scrutiny Awards are once again looking for fewer, but better local projects, says Jessica Crowe
February 2013
Public Leaders viewpoint
Triennial reviews of public bodies: three big questions for the government
Will the latest review process for public bodies deliver change – or does it lack scope and resources, asks Katharine Dommett
September 2012
Running regulators: do chairs count?
David Walker
As Dame Jo Williams leaves the CQC and other bodies gain new chairs, how important is the role, asks David Walker
August 2012
Stoke: a graphic overview
Stoke-on-trent city council has produced a 'pick n' mix' infogram to show its inner workings, explains John Ross
Public service complaint? Who you gonna call? Ombudsman
In the light of the Leveson inquiry, independent ombudsmen are more important than ever – it's time they covered all public services, argues Peter Tyndall
Government must do better on transparency, say MPs
Departments issue too much unexplained data and all public providers need to be more open, says Commons committee
July 2012
Abolish 'revolving door' advisory committee, say MPs
Bernard Jenkin has called for better protection and guidance for public officials moving to private sector jobs
NAO senior managers still too male and white
Watchdog misses diversity targets and acknowledges need to increase pace of change
Lord O'Donnell: make MPs' committees accountable
Former cabinet secretary prolongs spat with MPs over lack of scrutiny of select committees
June 2012
Government spends £70m on poor Whitehall information, says NAO
National Audit Office slams processes that fail to support Whitehall decision-making
May 2012
Do committee inquiries really uncover accountability?
David Walker
As the home affairs select committee examines the Home Office, David Walker asks what is the point of such inquiries
Welfare-to-work fraud report highlights wider public accountability failings
David Walker
National Audit Office report on A4e drives coach and horses through public services contracting model, says David Walker
Private firms face FoI for government contracts
MPs committee calls for more scrutiny of central government deals with private companies including opening up contracts to FoI
April 2012
The government shouldn't pass cuts off as 'efficiency savings'
David Walker
There's a difference between stopping doing something and continuing to do it, but at lower cost, says David Walker
March 2012
Why public sector league tables should have a health warning
David Walker
We love league tables – but can they demotivate public workers and reduce effectiveness, asks David Walker
The big debate
The big debate: measuring the impact of public services
Liza Ramrayka
Liza Ramrayka speaks to public and private sector leaders about how to track the social and economic effects of services
Savings promised as Audit Commission contracts announced
The Audit Commission has announced who will run the regional contracts to audit the figures of local public bodies
January 2012
Public Leaders viewpoint
Accountability can't be built from armchairs
Whitehall will need to change its ways if it really wants accountability to be a pillar of reform, argues Jessica Crowe
November 2011
Complaints management: why public bodies need to go back to basics
Following criticism of how government bodies handle complaints, Hans Grefte looks at what improvements could be made
