'Everybody is saying the same thing': Is government meeting its goal to set every child up for success in their first 1,000 days of life?
15 Sep Health & Social Care

'Everybody is saying the same thing': Is government meeting its goal to set every child up for success in their first 1,000 days of life?

The Health and Social Care Committee is examining how government is delivering on its promise to set children up for success in their first 1,000 days of life. Acting chair Paulette Hamilton shares what the MPs have learned so far
by Beckie Smith
Managing expectations: What do officials think of performance management in the civil service?
16 Sep HR
Managing expectations: What do officials think of performance management in the civil service?
Home/Office: Great Britain and Northern Ireland
11 Sep
Home/Office: Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Five reasons to include Policy Festival in your learning calendar this year
10 Sep HR
Five reasons to include Policy Festival in your learning calendar this year
Perm Sec Round-Up: Dr Malcolm McKibbin
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Dr Malcolm McKibbin
Perm Sec Round-Up: Sue Owen
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Sue Owen

Sue Owen

Permanent Secretary of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport



What were your biggest policy & delivery challenges in 2013, and how did you handle them?

DCMS handled a variety of untraditional issues, many high up on the public agenda. We need the private sector to act on internet safety in terms of children’s access, and we’ve been working with other departments and countries on the production and distribution of illegal material. Taking forward Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations on press self-regulation involved cross-party negotiations and getting to grips with Privy Council processes. Legislation for Equal Marriage was controversial, and we’re relying on other departments to help implement it. Our creative and cultural industries contribute 12% of GDP, so working with FCO, BIS & UKTI via the GREAT campaign is important. Our other growth contribution – delivering superfast broadband to rur

Perm Sec Round-Up: Dr Norma Wood
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Dr Norma Wood
Perm Sec Round-Up: Mark Sedwill
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Mark Sedwill

Mark Sedwill

Permanent Secretary of the Home Office
Perm Sec Round-Up: Richard Heaton
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Richard Heaton
Perm Sec Round-Up: Sir Jeremy Heywood
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Sir Jeremy Heywood

Sir Jeremy Heywood

Cabinet Secretary
Perm Sec Round-Up: Lin Homer
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Lin Homer

Lin Homer

Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs
Perm Sec Round-Up: Stephen Lovegrove
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Stephen Lovegrove
Perm Sec Round-Up: Sir Bob Kerslake
16 Dec 2013 Leadership
Perm Sec Round-Up: Sir Bob Kerslake
Perm Sec Round-Up: Robert Devereux
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: Robert Devereux

Robert Devereux

Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions
Perm Sec Round-Up: John Hirst
16 Dec 2013
Perm Sec Round-Up: John Hirst

John Hirst

Chief Executive of the Met Office
Interview: Paul Leinster, Environment Agency
13 Dec 2013 Energy & Environment
Interview: Paul Leinster, Environment Agency

Paul Leinster faces growing threats, a declining budget, and objectives that don’t always line up – but the Environment Agency chief seems thoroughly at home. Matt Ross meets a man coping with complexity
Interview: Paul Leinster, Environment Agency
13 Dec 2013 Energy & Environment
Interview: Paul Leinster, Environment Agency

Paul Leinster faces growing threats, a declining budget, and objectives that don’t always line up – but the Environment Agency chief seems thoroughly at home. Matt Ross meets a man coping with complexity
Round table: Data locked up, criminals roam free
13 Dec 2013
Round table: Data locked up, criminals roam free

A recent CSW round table examined the many benefits that would flow from better sharing of data across the many agencies involved in our criminal justice system – and the substantial obstacles to doing so. Colin Marrs reports.
Round table: Moving people on moving people
10 Dec 2013 HR
Round table: Moving people on moving people

The civil service needs to deploy its skilled staff more flexibly and intelligently – and as our round table found, that’s as much about winning hearts and minds as it is about introducing new systems. Stuart Watson reports.
Round table: Keeping the public sector shark alive
10 Dec 2013 Commercial
Round table: Keeping the public sector shark alive

In a world where service users demand ever-higher standards, the public sector must constantly adapt to feed their needs. Stuart Watson reports on a round table that discussed how service design can move forward.
Interview: Penny Ciniewicz, Valuation Office Agency
09 Dec 2013
Interview: Penny Ciniewicz, Valuation Office Agency

Penny Ciniewicz joined the civil service after a career in theatre. Winnie Agbonlahor learns how her role as chief of the Valuation Office Agency involves choreographing the many players involved in assessing properties
Round table: getting society working
05 Dec 2013
Round table: getting society working

The UK may be emerging from recession, but disadvantaged groups still struggle to find long-term employment. Tim Gibson reports on a round table that considered the issue in detail.
The hotchpotch in property policy
04 Dec 2013 Economy
The hotchpotch in property policy

Like many of our cities, the government’s policies on property and construction contain a mishmash of approaches and styles. Colin Marrs names this policy world’s up-and-coming neighbourhoods – and its troubled estates
Interview: Helen Stephenson, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office
03 Dec 2013 Commercial
Interview: Helen Stephenson, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office

The PM used to talk a lot about the Big Society, but it was rarely clear exactly what he meant. Joshua Chambers meets Helen Stephenson, who’s been charged with turning his vague aspirations into tangible work programmes
Interview: Helen Stephenson, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office
03 Dec 2013
Interview: Helen Stephenson, Office for Civil Society, Cabinet Office

The PM used to talk a lot about the Big Society, but it was rarely clear exactly what he meant. Joshua Chambers meets Helen Stephenson, who’s been charged with turning his vague aspirations into tangible work programmes
Special Report: Civil service accountability
02 Dec 2013 Legal
Special Report: Civil service accountability

The government wants to give ministers more power in Whitehall; others have called for a major review of our civil service. Asking the views of former secretaries of state, Suzannah Brecknell encountered sympathy for both ideas.
Interview: Les Ebdon, OFFA
01 Dec 2013 Education
Interview: Les Ebdon, OFFA

As the head of the Office for Fair Access, Professor Les Ebdon is in charge of ensuring universities open their doors to a broader range of applicants. Joshua Chambers meets a surprisingly controversial public servant
Frontline: Special schools headteacher and consultant
29 Nov 2013 Commercial
Frontline: Special schools headteacher and consultant

A former special schools headteacher explains how child protection rules swing from pole to pole, creating confusion all round