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It’s been a “challenging and difficult year for the civil service,” cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood said last month at an event held to celebrate the publication of the 200th issue of CSW – and the paper has been helpful as “by far the most effective way... to put out a single message that gets to all civil servants.”

Privilege days – where civil servants get extra days off following bank holidays or on days significant to the monarchy – are “completely out of line” with what you would see in the private sector and must be reviewed, Sir Bob Kerslake, head of the civil service, has told CSW.

About 2m households will receive less housing benefit under plans by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to save £2.3bn by 2014-15, the National Audit Office (NAO) says today.

Efforts by the Treasury to incorporate long-term analyses into its budgetary calculations are being hampered by the political calculations of successive governments, Nick Macpherson, permanent secretary at HM Treasury, said on Monday.

Tight rules control how troops can engage in combat; but the regime governing how former military figures can sell their skills and contacts to private companies are much weaker. Joshua Chambers assesses the system.

To ensure greater international competitiveness and help boost Britain’s economy in the long term, the Treasury is prioritising investment in infrastructure. Colin Marrs appraises the government’s efforts

Stephen Kelly, the government’s new chief operating officer, is in charge of streamlining processes and pursuing efficiency on Whitehall. Joshua Chambers meets the man bringing business practice to the public sector

The government is eager to increase the amount of goods and services it buys from small and medium-sized enterprises. Mark Smulian attends a round table on the opportunities, the challenges – and the solutions

Matt Mercer, who edited Whitehall & Westminster World from 2004 to 2008, recalls its launch and sketches out the paper’s development from a niche Whitehall periodical to an influential, UK-wide publication

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The government will legislate so that departments can share information on people who owe debt to public bodies, Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude announced on Monday. However, he also told CSW that he couldn’t guarantee that the legislation will be passed in this Parliament.

A veteran voluntary sector worker for a Midlands health charity speaks out

Over the past three decades, no government has been able to achieve reductions in the administrative costs of central government equal to those proposed by the coalition, a report from Oxford University said earlier this month.

Now new permanent secretary Jon Thompson has his feet well under the table at the Ministry of Defence, he will be on the receiving end of a lot of good – and not so good – advice. I can offer a few thoughts about how the momentum of reform can best be maintained in a high-tempo department characterised by its preponderance of alpha personalities and diversity of vested interests.

Fewer than two-thirds of government departments have adequate plans for providing assurance on major projects, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in a report published yesterday.

A set of interviewees who went on to greater things

Scouring the 5,000,000 words in 200 issues of CSW and its predecessor Whitehall & Westminster World, we’ve picked out the stories that made the news, set the agenda, offered an insight – and revealed something fascinating.

Last year the cabinet secretary’s job was split up, creating three vacancies; and now the third job – that of Cabinet Office permanent secretary – has been filled. Joshua Chambers interviews Richard Heaton

The Ministry of Defence’s new permanent secretary, Jon Thompson, tells Matt Ross how he intends to turn this most complex of Whitehall departments into a more professional operation – and dig it out of its financial hole

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The MOD must store institutional knowledge in its armoury