News

With the environment department badly hit in the Spending Review, many of its agencies saw hefty cuts. Joshua Chambers speaks to Dave Webster, chief executive of Natural England, on how the quango wielded its secateurs.

The prime minister should not be given the power to select permanent secretaries, the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) says in a report published today.

The Care Quality Commission exists to inspect quality in our health and care services – but when chief executive David Behan joined it in 2012, its own services were in turmoil. He tells Matt Ross what he’s doing to turn it around.

Extreme rain, storms and tides have combined to overwhelm our flood defences – but defences can only ever be a backstop. Stuart Watson explores how public agencies could work together to minimise the danger of floods.

The Treasury should consider implementing new “funding mechanisms that better incentivise departments to recover debt” as part of a clear strategy for reducing the amount of overdue debt owed to central government, according to a report published last week by the National Audit Office.

The Department for Education (DfE) has appointed 28-year-old Tom Shinner as its director of strategy and performance.

The government last week published advice given by HM Treasury permanent secretary Sir Nicholas Macpherson, cautioning the chancellor against a currency union with an independent Scotland.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has continued to improve staff engagement this year, while the Department for Education (DfE) has presided over the largest yearly fall, the 2013 Civil Service People Survey results show. The results mean that the DWP’s engagement score has now overtaken the DfE’s, at 54 compared to 51.

The majority of civil servants – 61% – have not seen faster progress on reforms to create a modern workplace since this agenda was highlighted as a priority by the cabinet secretary last July, according to a survey carried out by CSW.

In cinemas now

The new Competition & Markets Authority will referee our markets, boosting competition to support both economic growth and government outsourcing projects. Chief executive Alex Chisholm talks to Suzannah Brecknell

The Government Digital Service (GDS) plans to replace CloudStore – the electronic marketplace which allows government and wider public sector organisations to buy cloud-based services – with a new portal that has greater capacity and new features.

The Public Accounts Committee chair sits right at the heart of Westminster, with the power to examine public spending across government. But as Margaret Hodge tells Matt Ross, she’s always felt like an outsider

Universal Credit has been stymied by confused accountability and a “very, very poor set of decisions,” Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge has told CSW.

Reaching 60 is undoubtedly a milestone occasion befitting of celebration. And though it wasn’t my milestone, I was more than happy to take the opportunity to check out La Trompette – a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chiswick. Having never sampled Michelin-starred offerings before, I was intrigued to see if it would live up to the hype.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has blocked the publication of the project assessment review report into the HS2 rail line.

Oliver Robbins, formerly the deputy national security adviser, has been appointed ‘director general for civil service’ in the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office has appointed a former oil executive to take charge of the Major Projects Authority, it announced this week.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude has launched a consultation on the open source document formats which his department is proposing should be used across government.

Social investment charity Nesta has been named as the government’s chosen partner in the first mutual joint venture spun off from a Whitehall policy unit.

A lack of resources is making it more difficult for the Charity Commission to do its job, the organisation’s chief executive has said.

Educationalists are being artificially divided into two opposing camps, damaging continuity in education, the former Department for Education permanent secretary Sir David Bell has told CSW.

We need to rethink education – and the DfE’s response to constructive critics, says David Bell