Bleak outlook for public finances after Darling’s tax cut
The public finances will be left in increasing disarray next year as a result of Chancellor Alistair Darling’s May 13 decision to borrow £2.7bn to fund a tax cut for low- and middle-income households, senior economists have said.
Brown’s Queen’s Speech preview seeks to reform and reassure
Gordon Brown has set out a draft legislative programme combining a new wave of public service reforms with measures aimed at reassuring the public that they will be shielded from the worst of the economic downturn.
Brown promises ‘more power’ for NHS patients
The prime minister has set out ‘radical’ plans to ‘put more power in the hands of patients’ treated by the NHS, as a Healthcare Commission hospital patient survey revealed wide variations in patient satisfaction.
Knock, knock… By Michael Cross
… does anybody know who’s there? The public sector relies on accurate population data for its budgeting and decision-making. But the problems that have plagued past census surveys mean that 2011 could be the last of its kind. Michael Cross reports
