Closing argument: ex-legal chief Jonathan Jones on Brexit, Covid and leaving government
21 Jan Brexit

Closing argument: ex-legal chief Jonathan Jones on Brexit, Covid and leaving government

Jonathan Jones’s three-decade civil service career came to an abrupt end in September when he quit over controversial elements of the internal market bill. The government’s former top lawyer tells Beckie Smith about his departure, cocktail recipes, and the legal side of the Covid crisis
by Beckie Smith
Was 2020 a watershed for public sector use of algorithms?
25 Jan Digital, Data & Technology
Was 2020 a watershed for public sector use of algorithms?
‘Government could support councils with innovation and risk-taking’
20 Jan Coronavirus
‘Government could support councils with innovation and risk-taking’
Leading into 2021: 21 civil service leaders preview the year ahead
19 Jan Leadership
Leading into 2021: 21 civil service leaders preview the year ahead
Spending Review 2020: Do outcomes for departments point to a new way of measuring performance?
27 Nov 2020 Finance
Spending Review 2020: Do outcomes for departments point to a new way of measuring performance?
New frameworks and metrics to judge how well departments work could form the building blocks of a reformed approach to managing public spending, but more detail is needed, says Martin Wheatley
Priorities for every department and new FCDO and Treasury hubs: what the Spending Review means for the civil service
25 Nov 2020 Civil Service Reform
Priorities for every department and new FCDO and Treasury hubs: what the Spending Review means for the civil service
What are your department’s new priorities?
Probation inspector Justin Russell on coronavirus, Transforming Rehabilitation and the Spending Review
20 Nov 2020 Justice & Home Affairs
Probation inspector Justin Russell on coronavirus, Transforming Rehabilitation and the Spending Review
After years of funding cuts and the looming renationalisation of outsourced probation services, Russell calls for extra funding to be “baked into the baseline” for the Spending Review
Opinion: rethinking public services in a time of Covid-19
20 Nov 2020 Coronavirus
Opinion: rethinking public services in a time of Covid-19
Public services are facing a unforeseen and mammoth challenge in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, changing demands for users also create a challenge to create more user-centred services, say Dr Edwina Yida Zhu, Prof Stephen P. Osborne, and Dr Kirsty Strokosch, of the University of Edinburgh.
Green light: IPA chief Nick Smallwood on the Covid response, building back better, and his Get To Green mantra
17 Nov 2020 Leadership
Green light: IPA chief Nick Smallwood on the Covid response, building back better, and his Get To Green mantra
Nick Smallwood joined the Infrastructure and Projects Authority with a plan to improve project delivery across government. Despite the impact of coronavirus, it remains on track, he tells Richard Johnstone
‘I didn’t make it to cabinet secretary but I got close’: Jonathan Slater on leading – and leaving – DfE
10 Nov 2020 Leadership
‘I didn’t make it to cabinet secretary but I got close’: Jonathan Slater on leading – and leaving – DfE
Jonathan Slater was one of the nation’s top civil servants until he was asked to leave by Boris Johnson in August after the A-Levels grades row. In an exclusive interview with Beckie Smith, he reflects on his time in government.
‘What is it that can only be done by us?’: preparing your team for a difficult winter
09 Nov 2020 Leadership
‘What is it that can only be done by us?’: preparing your team for a difficult winter
The months ahead are going to be challenging. Now is the time for civil service leaders and their teams to discuss how they keep their resilience, say Hilary Douglas and Peter Shaw
November 2020 CSW digital issue
02 Nov 2020
November 2020 CSW digital issue
Exclusive interviews with Jonathan Slater, Nick Smallwood and HMRC's two perm secs
Opinion: Don’t lock prisoners out of the digital revolution
30 Oct 2020 Digital, Data & Technology
Opinion: Don’t lock prisoners out of the digital revolution
The impact of coronavirus has shown how important digital skills and tools are. The Ministry of Justice must do more to ensure they form part of offenders rehabilitation to prepare them for life outside, says Aidan Shilson-Thomas
‘Personal still’: what Black History Month 2020 means to me
28 Oct 2020 HR
‘Personal still’: what Black History Month 2020 means to me
Brian Stanislas MBE reflects on his civil service career and working to engage more people from BAME backgrounds in the opportunities available
Dave Penman: The new big beast enters the alpacas' den
27 Oct 2020 Civil Service Reform
Dave Penman: The new big beast enters the alpacas' den
Simon Case’s first appearance before the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs select committee meant that Dave Penman heard his voice for the first time. And he had a lot to say.
‘The opportunity to have organisations of all types publishing data to common standards is really exciting’: why stats regulators' new award matters
21 Oct 2020 Analysis
‘The opportunity to have organisations of all types publishing data to common standards is really exciting’: why stats regulators' new award matters
The first ever award to recognise the voluntary application of the Office for Statistics Regulation code has been awarded jointly to MHCLG and the Scottish Fiscal Commission, with UCAS named highly commended.
Interview: UK national statistician on how data has helped government – and the public – in coronavirus response
20 Oct 2020 Coronavirus
Interview: UK national statistician on how data has helped government – and the public – in coronavirus response
To mark World Statistics Day, Professor Sir Ian Diamond reveals how the work of statisticians has been crucial in supporting government’s pandemic response, as well as his thoughts on the media and politicians’ use of numbers
LISTEN: Government commercial chief Gareth Rhys Williams on the procurement challenges of Covid Exclusive
14 Oct 2020 Commercial
LISTEN: Government commercial chief Gareth Rhys Williams on the procurement challenges of Covid
The government’s top commercial official speaks to CSW about the pressures, and lessons, from the government’s response to coronavirus
Opinion: Dominic Cummings is keen to make the UK a technology superpower. He should change procurement rules to make it happen
13 Oct 2020 Commercial
Opinion: Dominic Cummings is keen to make the UK a technology superpower. He should change procurement rules to make it happen
Innovation is stifled by public sector procurement rules. Brexit, and the Integrated Review, offer a chance to change that, says Simon Harwood, the head of defence and security at Cranfield University
‘There’s burnout we need to watch for’: civil servants reflect on the impact of coronavirus and home working
09 Oct 2020 Coronavirus
‘There’s burnout we need to watch for’: civil servants reflect on the impact of coronavirus and home working
Top civil service officials have spoken to Civil Service World about what working from home and uncertainty during Covid-19 has meant for their people
'The best thing was being treated like an adult from day one': what it's like to join the care leavers internship programme
08 Oct 2020
'The best thing was being treated like an adult from day one': what it's like to join the care leavers internship programme
Danielle June shares her reflections on the Care Leavers Internship as applications open for 2020.
Opinion: The UK’s post-Brexit role in the world should be digital
06 Oct 2020 Brexit
Opinion: The UK’s post-Brexit role in the world should be digital
Championing and developing progress in digital government across the globe could place the UK at the heart of global networks, say Tanya Filer and Antonio Weiss
“Covid has accelerated the move to online”: How the new normal is changing UK regulation
02 Oct 2020 Coronavirus
“Covid has accelerated the move to online”: How the new normal is changing UK regulation
As part of a series of roundtable discussions, Civil Service World and Hitachi Solutions examined the ways in which the pandemic has changed how regulators work and the sectors they oversee. Geoffrey Lyons reports
28 Sep 2020 Justice & Home Affairs
As a black civil servant, I want to talk about ‘allyship’ in the fight against racism
The murder of George Floyd and the subsequent global protests have seen many white people declare themselves allies in the fight against racism, in workplaces like the civil service and beyond. But, in these personal reflections, one official asks: what does this mean in practice?
‘The importance of diversity at senior levels is the difference of perspective’: reflections on working in the civil service with a disability
18 Sep 2020 HR
‘The importance of diversity at senior levels is the difference of perspective’: reflections on working in the civil service with a disability
In the first of a series of articles about disability and working in the civil service, Alistair Watters, the director of the Grenfell site and programme at Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, talks about his own experience in both the private and public sector and what needs to happen to build candidates’ confidence that their disability won’t count against them.
DfID was one of government’s most data savvy departments. Preserving these skills will be a test of Whitehall reform
17 Sep 2020 Civil Service Reform
DfID was one of government’s most data savvy departments. Preserving these skills will be a test of Whitehall reform
DfID used data and analysis in a way that few other departments manage – and in a way that the government is keen to expand. How this is nurtured in the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be a key lesson
Opinion: government environment bodies felt austerity hard. The Covid recovery is a chance to rebound
16 Sep 2020 Coronavirus
Opinion: government environment bodies felt austerity hard. The Covid recovery is a chance to rebound
The legacy of government austerity is still felt by many agencies in government, writes Nick Kirsop-Taylor of the University of Exeter. But the government’s aim for the recovery from Covid gives them a chance to build back better too
‘He lived and breathed joined-up government’: the civil service life and times of Mark Sedwill Exclusive
09 Sep 2020 Leadership
‘He lived and breathed joined-up government’: the civil service life and times of Mark Sedwill
As the cabinet secretary stands down after more than 30 years in the civil service, CSW asks people who have worked with him: who is Sir Mark Sedwill?