News

National Audit Office finds 9,000 data breaches recorded by the 17 biggest government departments in last year – and says Cabinet Office must do more to help departments clamp down on loss and theft

High speed rail project faces "volatile" costs and skills shortages, Public Accounts Committee says, as the group of MPs urge government to finalise decisions on route

As cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood prepares to face MPs' questions on the Iraq Inquiry, the Better Government Initiative – whose members include former departmental chiefs – calls for new way to let senior officials raise their concerns

Department for Exiting the European Union has "quadrupled" in size over the past eight weeks, says Brexit secretary

Civil servants are famed for their analytical skills, but debts, deficits and downturns can still be perplexing concepts. David Tyrrall from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy offers a handy primer on the basics of national accounting – and busts a few myths on the way

National Audit Office says the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme team moved quickly to take in more refugees after outcry – but says councils need more reassurance on funding

“Security-minded folk who can think originally still don’t think working for government is cool," says anonymous Ministry of Justice recruiter

We must challenge the assumption that every civil servant wants the same bundle of rewards or a career for life

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

Downing Street source says prime minister Theresa May is "100% committed" to HS2 despite departure of Britain's highest-paid civil servant

"Open, international" hunt for a new official to lead the Brexit-focused trade department may not be plain sailing for the trade secretary, experts tell CSW

Civil service network seeks to build pan-Whitehall expertise in areas such as payment-by results and agent-based modelling

Reduction in civil service headcount has created a more middle-aged organisation that is less well equipped for future challenges, says the National Audit Office

Former Cabinet Office perm sec and one time Football Association chief gets the back of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Trade secretary Liam Fox says his department will launch an "open, international recruitment for a new permanent secretary" once Sir Martin Donnelly steps down

Ben Gummer says government has a "clear and co-orindated" vision for digital and says he already "commissioned it to do two very large pieces of work that it wasn’t doing before"

Rapson – named as one of Cranfield University's "100 Women to Watch" last year – is to leave post next month after more than a decade in the civil service

New Cabinet Office minister argues that the civil service has "already risen to the challenge" of Brexit as Labour says now is not the time to be "laying off civil servants and slashing budgets"

Government's pick for the job of First Civil Service Commissioner calls for a more realistic approach to honest failure as he faces MPs for a scrutiny hearing

Treasury resistance hampered early planning, while over-stretched senior officials failed to spot warning signs that the project to overhaul benefits was failing, according to an in-depth report published by the Institute for Government

Martin Donnelly (pictured) will lead the new Department for International Trade for a transitional period, while former DECC perm sec Alex Chisholm takes on the expanded business department

New group chief technology officer will be responsible for driving shared IT services – with DCLG looking for candidates who will challenge "the status quo"

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

The civil service can deliver the best outcome possible from exiting the EU, says the FDA union's general secretary – but only if it is given clear political direction as well as the required capability and capacity