By Enid AllenThe need to deliver world-class public services in the UK has seen local government innovators develop and implement the genuinely bottom-up initiative of strategic service delivery partnerships. Consequently, an ever-increasing number of local authorities are managing the scale and pace of modernisation by working with the private sector. The models being employed to manage partnership relationships described in the report. It also sets out the role of leadership in delivering ownership across organisations. The case studies include county and district councils as well as London boroughs.

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Disturbing new evidence from the headteachers’ union, the NAHT, suggests that staff who have been hard to attract into schools are now in danger of being lost due to a shortage of money.A survey of state school budgets shows many schools so short of money they are letting staff on short contracts go to balance the books.

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There’s been a warning that the Inland Revenue’s forced suspension of its online tax filing system may be the first of many such episodes in the rush to get public services online.The Inland Revenue had to suspend its online tax filing system last week after a possible security lapse. Users reported seeing snippets of information about other taxpayers.

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