Spending Review 2025: Tight times ahead, but no return to austerity
12 Jun Civil Service Reform

Spending Review 2025: Tight times ahead, but no return to austerity

Unions air job-security fears as IFS warns settlements leave little scope for “significant” hikes in public sector pay
by Jim Dunton
'A truly co-designed, collaborative effort': How the Evaluation Task Force shook up its annual conference
26 Jun
'A truly co-designed, collaborative effort': How the Evaluation Task Force shook up its annual conference
Which tasks do public servants spend too long on? And how can AI help?
10 Jun Digital, Data & Technology
Which tasks do public servants spend too long on? And how can AI help?
Derided as the Frankenstein’s monster of Whitehall: Will Labour really abolish DCMS?
05 Jun Civil Service Reform
Derided as the Frankenstein’s monster of Whitehall: Will Labour really abolish DCMS?
Delivery driver: What can we learn from the diaries of Sir Michael Barber?
28 Mar Operational Delivery
Delivery driver: What can we learn from the diaries of Sir Michael Barber?
A book that draws on the diaries of Sir Michael Barber, head of Tony Blair’s Delivery Unit, feels relevant and timely. Suzannah Brecknell speaks to author Michelle Clement to find out more
Could the latest attempt to tackle knife crime succeed where others have failed?
27 Mar Justice & Home Affairs
Could the latest attempt to tackle knife crime succeed where others have failed?
The government has declared war on knife crime and aims to halve it in a decade as part of its Safer Streets Mission. How can it turn tough talk into action?
'The boldest step yet': Can the government meet its ambition to halve violence against women and girls?
24 Mar Justice & Home Affairs
'The boldest step yet': Can the government meet its ambition to halve violence against women and girls?
Government’s mission to halve VAWG is ambitious and necessary. But it will need a new focus on the needs of victims – and much more emphasis on perpetrators
‘We need a sensible conversation about pay and career paths’: Expert panel discusses civil service recruitment and turnover
21 Mar HR
‘We need a sensible conversation about pay and career paths’: Expert panel discusses civil service recruitment and turnover
Top lines from an Institute for Government debate on attracting and retaining the right people
Mega drive: How government can rethink its approach to the biggest major projects
20 Mar Project Delivery
Mega drive: How government can rethink its approach to the biggest major projects
The National Audit Office sets out the case for introducing a new category of major projects: mega projects
'Really crude headcount cuts won't work': Experts debate the right size and shape of the civil service
14 Mar Civil Service Reform
'Really crude headcount cuts won't work': Experts debate the right size and shape of the civil service
Top lines from an Institute for Government webinar on the biggest changes and challenges faced by officials today
How can the new industrial strategy bring about meaningful change?
03 Mar Economy
How can the new industrial strategy bring about meaningful change?
With a 10-year strategy under development ahead of SR25, DBT perm sec Gareth Davies spells out his approach
Leading with purpose: Jonathan Freeman on his journey from senior official to head of Charity for Civil Servants
28 Feb Leadership
Leading with purpose: Jonathan Freeman on his journey from senior official to head of Charity for Civil Servants
The new boss of Charity for Civil Servants, Jonathan Freeman, talks to Susan Allott about community, keeping going through tough times, and wanting civil servants to feel loved
'Huge common sense is needed on WfH': 10 things we learnt from Chris Wormald’s PACAC hearing
26 Feb Civil Service Reform
'Huge common sense is needed on WfH': 10 things we learnt from Chris Wormald’s PACAC hearing
New cab sec sets out views on home working, mission government, grade hierarchy and more
Some things change, some stay the same: Sixteen years of the People Survey
24 Feb HR
Some things change, some stay the same: Sixteen years of the People Survey
CSW breaks down how responses to the Civil Service People Survey have changed since it was launched 16 years ago
Serve and protect: An interview with Trade Remedies Authority chair Nick Baird
20 Feb
Serve and protect: An interview with Trade Remedies Authority chair Nick Baird
Cheaper imports for consumers or protection for domestic industries? Baird explains how he is guiding the new organisation through a dynamic but delicate policy area
Q&A: Civil service commissioner Atul Devani
18 Feb HR
Q&A: Civil service commissioner Atul Devani
Serial entrepreneur Atul Devani has been part of the Civil Service Commission for just over two years. He tells CSW about his background and role
Six things we've learned about the prisons capacity crisis this year
17 Feb Justice & Home Affairs
Six things we've learned about the prisons capacity crisis this year
Secure estate has £2.8bn maintenance backlog, while a contractor's demise will add £300m to the core building programme
Book review: The Mind of The Minister provides expert guidance on repairing relations between ministers and officials
14 Feb Civil Service Reform
Book review: The Mind of The Minister provides expert guidance on repairing relations between ministers and officials
Rich in insight and anecdote, the book shows politicians and officials are bound together – and sometimes thriving – whether they like it or not
From embassy to enterprise: Former Foreign Office perm sec Simon Fraser on founding a start-up
11 Feb Foreign Affairs
From embassy to enterprise: Former Foreign Office perm sec Simon Fraser on founding a start-up
Sir Simon Fraser, the founder of Flint Global, talks to CSW about moving from the civil service to the private sector, and the importance of being calm in a crisis
Why new Treasury rules on estimating fraud and error could help drive savings
07 Feb Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Why new Treasury rules on estimating fraud and error could help drive savings
New Treasury guidance requires that departments report on the total level of loss across their programmes. Here's why it matters and how the NAO can help
We ran England's first citizens' jury on assisted dying – here's what we learnt
07 Feb Social Research
We ran England's first citizens' jury on assisted dying – here's what we learnt
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics used a citizens’ jury to gather evidence on the increasingly politicised debate on assisted dying. Danielle Hamm explains
Breaking up is hard to do: What makes a machinery of government change successful?
05 Feb Civil Service Reform
Breaking up is hard to do: What makes a machinery of government change successful?
MoG changes – what are they good for? We look back on 20 years of what some Whitehall watchers affectionately call “rearranging the deckchairs” to see what’s worked, and what’s been a waste of time and money
Collaboration up, efficiency and productivity down: What we learnt from the 2024 Civil Service People Survey
04 Feb HR
Collaboration up, efficiency and productivity down: What we learnt from the 2024 Civil Service People Survey
CSW delves deeper into this year's survey to find some of the most interesting results
Community spirit: MHCLG's Sarah Healey on missions, Grenfell and place-based policymaking
03 Feb
Community spirit: MHCLG's Sarah Healey on missions, Grenfell and place-based policymaking
In her first CSW interview as perm sec at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sarah Healey shares her thoughts on changes ahead, and her tips for keeping worries at bay
Civil servants – we want you to tell us what you really think
31 Jan Civil Service Reform
Civil servants – we want you to tell us what you really think
CSW and Reform launch The Alternative People Survey
What do senior women leaders wish they could tell their younger selves?
30 Jan HR
What do senior women leaders wish they could tell their younger selves?
You don’t need to be brave on your own – and other findings from a recent study
Coach's corner: Tips from an executive coach and former director general
29 Jan HR
Coach's corner: Tips from an executive coach and former director general
Executive coach and former senior civil servant Peter Shaw on his time in government, the common mistake new leaders make and his advice for getting on in the workplace
Why the civil service should do more to protect its institutional memory
27 Jan HR
Why the civil service should do more to protect its institutional memory
As churn rates fuel a new era of amnesia, Susan Allott asks if we can ever escape from Groundhog Day