News

Four years on from a major overhaul of Whitehall’s learning and development programme, Civil Service Learning is embarking on another big shake-up. Matt Foster sits down with CSL director Hilary Spencer to discuss what “phase two” will mean for officials

NAO finds that the Department for International Development may be over-reliant on external contractors as it responds to an increasing number of crises

Chief executive of the Infrastructure and Projects Watchdog seeks to reassure MPs after merger with Treasury unit – and John Manzoni says new organisation will have more "teeth"

As Lords Committee looks into whether Scotland needs a separate civil service, former Cabinet secretary Lord O'Donnell says London house prices "seriously damage mobility" between Whitehall and the rest of the UK

Report by MPs says Eurostar sale was managed well but that government used "over cautious assumptions" and should do more to build in-house corporate finance knowledge

Coalition justice minister Lord McNally warns FoI review panel is a "rigged jury" – while Lib Dem chief whip Tom Brake attacks Jeremy Heywood and Gus O'Donnell

Government should be trialling use of distributed ledger technologies to improve welfare payments, according to a report published today

With the path from Whitehall to Davos well-worn, Adrian Brown suggests how delegates at this week's event might turn pledges into reality 

A new workforce strategy and using data to “more closely align departments” are among the priorities for Whitehall's incoming HR chief

Former cabinet secretary says civil servants will be informally working on preparations for British exit from the European Union in spite of official assurances

Project "Ocean Liner" reportedly mulls insourcing and says there is "no consistent advice" for dealing with IT challenges across government

New research from Vodafone reveals a surprising link between technology and trust in public services. 

Sir Nicholas Macpherson – the longest serving Treasury perm sec for sixty years – can be credited with overseeing the rebuilding of the finance ministry. But his successor faces a formidable in-tray

DfE's Wormald to take on top job at the Department of Health from April

New guidance tells officials: "do not consult for the sake of it".

MPs warn Whitehall to up its game on delivering trans equality for staff and citizens

Successful candidate will succeed Tim Kelsey to lead on IT procurement and implementation

It’s right that the current crop of successful, committed public servants have been recognised by the honours system. But with senior officials’ pay and reward packages decreasing while the political risk associated with their roles shoots up, will the government be able to attract equally talented successors? 

Tax authority's chief executive Dame Lin Homer is grilled on plans to cut HMRC's office network from 170 smaller offices to 13 regional centres

MPs on the Public Accounts Committee says the industry regulator is failing to ensure savings are passed on

New report by the National Audit Office spending watchdog finds that while departmental spending on consultants and temporary staff has plummeted over last five years, latest figures indicate a “short-term reduction rather than a sustainable strategy”

Exclusive: Civil Service Learning director tells CSW that redesigned training scheme will be "much, much better" to use, involving courses that are "co-created with civil servants" – and sheds light on the new leadership academy set to launch this year

Work and Pensions Committee says central government must provide more guidance to local authorities following welfare handover – and warns of the "human and financial costs" of failure

Government Digital Service prepares to roll out text, email and letter notification service for citizens in bid to cut inbound calls