The briefings against Chris Wormald damage the trust that is essential to good government
23 Oct Civil Service Reform

The briefings against Chris Wormald damage the trust that is essential to good government

For the Cummings admirers in No.10 reading this: Anyone can break a system down, putting it back together is a different skill
by Dave Penman
The UK needs regulation – but we can do it an awful lot better
24 Oct Civil Service Reform
The UK needs regulation – but we can do it an awful lot better
How much money could the government's Covid fraud voluntary repayment scheme recover?
23 Oct Coronavirus
How much money could the government's Covid fraud voluntary repayment scheme recover?
One body, two missions: How Skills England is working with partners to drive opportunity and growth
16 Oct Education
One body, two missions: How Skills England is working with partners to drive opportunity and growth
Dave Penman: What we can read into the latest bout of anonymous briefing
09 Jul 2020 Communications
Dave Penman: What we can read into the latest bout of anonymous briefing
New leaks to the press about reforms to the Government Communication Service are yet more proof that this government sees control from No.10 as critical to its operation and success
Operationally led, digitally enabled: A fresh approach to transforming legacy border systems Sponsored
07 Jul 2020 Foreign Affairs
Operationally led, digitally enabled: A fresh approach to transforming legacy border systems
Simon Daykin, Chief Technology Officer at Leidos, on how to deliver a more advanced border through digital transformation
The Care Inspectorate: Introducing agile working to improve the complaints-handling process Sponsored
06 Jul 2020 Operational Delivery
The Care Inspectorate: Introducing agile working to improve the complaints-handling process
PA Consulting on why an agile system for handling complaints means better care for employees and complainants alike
Substitutability: Maybe government is less unique than it imagines Sponsored
06 Jul 2020 Commercial
Substitutability: Maybe government is less unique than it imagines
Is it in our best interests to assume our needs are unique, or should government procurement professionals look to ‘best fit’ substitutes? New observations from Proxima’s Guy Strafford, EVP
‘His decency and integrity shone through in everything he did’: Government Legal Department's Stephen Amos remembered by Sir Jonathan Jones
03 Jul 2020 Legal
‘His decency and integrity shone through in everything he did’: Government Legal Department's Stephen Amos remembered by Sir Jonathan Jones
GLD perm sec pays tribute to "a brilliant lawyer and the most diligent of public servants"
Mark Sedwill’s extraordinary career shows ministers work with talented public servants. They must inspire them, not just challenge them
01 Jul 2020 Civil Service Reform
Mark Sedwill’s extraordinary career shows ministers work with talented public servants. They must inspire them, not just challenge them
The civil service is full of civil servants who have excelled throughout their career. Continued briefing against them won’t get the best from them amid unrepresented challenges, Dave Penman says
‘I hope an enduring legacy will be how we seek to work together’: one civil service union’s Covid lessons
25 Jun 2020
‘I hope an enduring legacy will be how we seek to work together’: one civil service union’s Covid lessons
The deputy general secretary of Prospect says the civil service has never before worked at such pace as it had to in response to coronavirus. Close collaboration between staff and employees could be one the pandemic’s legacie
Opinion: The government must protect and nurture the best of DfID as it merges with the Foreign Office
19 Jun 2020 Foreign Affairs
Opinion: The government must protect and nurture the best of DfID as it merges with the Foreign Office

If done correctly, blending the skills of both the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office could yield something that is greater than just the sum of its parts
Case study: How academic ‘policy entrepreneurs’ can help the civil service
19 Jun 2020 Economy
Case study: How academic ‘policy entrepreneurs’ can help the civil service

From the impact of Covid-19 to dealing with the impact of climate change, government has never faced greater policy challenges. But, as recent work on developing policy strategies for carbon capture and storage shows, civil servants can get help from academics to find the right solutions. Professor Karen Turner, the director from the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde, explains

How civil servants have learnt at pace during Covid-19
16 Jun 2020 Government Tax Profession
How civil servants have learnt at pace during Covid-19

Two former directors general – now leadership coaches – share their observations about civil servants seizing opportunities to innovate
We have special legislation to cope with crises like Covid – so why didn’t the government use it?
05 Jun 2020 Government Tax Profession
We have special legislation to cope with crises like Covid – so why didn’t the government use it?

Instead of invoking the Civil Contingencies Act when the pandemic broke out, the government drafted its own coronavirus bill. Could it be because of the CCA's emphasis on scrutiny?
‘I cannot remember such a period of bravery in public services’: NAO head Gareth Davies on auditing the Covid-19 response
29 May 2020
‘I cannot remember such a period of bravery in public services’: NAO head Gareth Davies on auditing the Covid-19 response

Gareth Davies, head of the National Audit Office, shares his thoughts on auditing the government’s response to Covid-19 and the launch of the NAO’s new strategy
Book review: the personal is environmental at the intersection of law, academia and campaigning
15 May 2020 Legal
Book review: the personal is environmental at the intersection of law, academia and campaigning

Richard Macrory’s new book is more than a treatise on environmental law, says Baroness Young – it’s an engaging account of a seminal career
Sarah Nickson: Testing targets can miss the point
07 May 2020 Government Tax Profession
Sarah Nickson: Testing targets can miss the point

Symbolic numbers picked to deflect public pressure can create more problems than they solve
Dave Penman and Mike Clancy: Covid-19 means a single pay settlement for the whole civil service is in the national interest
27 Apr 2020 Government Tax Profession
Dave Penman and Mike Clancy: Covid-19 means a single pay settlement for the whole civil service is in the national interest

The civil service does not need the distraction of over 200 separate pay negotiations in the middle of a pandemic, argue the general secretaries of the FDA and Prospect unions
Old guard, new tricks? Alex Thomas on what the new civil service chief operating officer must prioritise
20 Apr 2020 Civil Service Reform
Old guard, new tricks? Alex Thomas on what the new civil service chief operating officer must prioritise

Recent appointments may have gone to experienced insiders, but the new civil service chief operating officer must build on the momentum of outsider John Manzoni and help tackle persistent problems
Doing the unimaginable: don't forget the unsung heroes across government
16 Apr 2020 Government Tax Profession
Doing the unimaginable: don't forget the unsung heroes across government

As the civil service responds to the immense challenges of  the coronavirus pandemic, they have achieved something incredible - leaving Dave Penman (almost) lost for words
Sofa government: What it’s like to WFH (Whitehall from home) in our time of coronavirus
15 Apr 2020 Digital, Data & Technology
Sofa government: What it’s like to WFH (Whitehall from home) in our time of coronavirus

A civil servant offers some homespun wisdom on the highs and lows of remote working during a pandemic – and discovers it is anything but pants



 
They stood up to be counted, now let's stand up to clap for them: Leigh Lewis on the extraordinary work of civil servants tackling coronavirus
06 Apr 2020 Economy
They stood up to be counted, now let's stand up to clap for them: Leigh Lewis on the extraordinary work of civil servants tackling coronavirus

"All over government, people are being asked to deliver the totally impossible at unimaginable speed."
Dave Penman: Cometh the hour, cometh the PM?
03 Apr 2020 Government Tax Profession
Dave Penman: Cometh the hour, cometh the PM?

Only the prime minister can address the growing fracture in the relationship between ministers and officials. But will he?
‘I will be clapping for civil servants tonight too’: Garry Graham on the vital work of officials
02 Apr 2020 Government Tax Profession
‘I will be clapping for civil servants tonight too’: Garry Graham on the vital work of officials

NHS staff deserve our support on the frontline of the battle against coronavirus, but they are supported by an unseen army of dedicated people. Let’s think of them tonight too, says Prospect’s Garry Graham
Pointing the way to the future: how technology will change defence
02 Apr 2020 Commercial
Pointing the way to the future: how technology will change defence

As part of Civil Service World’s Digital Transformation special edition, we asked sector experts to share their insight on how a broad range of near-term advances in technology will transform the way public services are delivered.
Pointing the way to the future: how technology will change tax and benefits
01 Apr 2020 Civil Service Reform
Pointing the way to the future: how technology will change tax and benefits

As part of Civil Service World’s Digital Transformation special edition, we asked sector experts to share their insight on how a broad range of near-term advances in technology will transform the way public services are delivered.
Pointing the way to the future: how technology will change transport
31 Mar 2020 Digital, Data & Technology
Pointing the way to the future: how technology will change transport

As part of Civil Service World’s Digital Transformation special edition, we asked sector experts to share their insight on how a broad range of near-term advances in technology will transform the way public services are delivered.