News

Amid all the drama of last week’s arrival of a new government, it was easy to miss the launch of the Civil Service Workforce Plan. But, as Suzannah Brecknell explains, it’s a document that could have major implications for the future of the organisation as it grapples with the big challenges ahead

“The civil service has to be free to make whatever preparations it considers necessary and it should not be constrained by instructions from the government," says Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin

Cameron's decision to reward Spads at the same time as the civil service faces cuts in redundancy pay will stick in the minds of many civil servants, says CSW's deputy editor Matt Foster

With Matt Hancock leaving the government as part of new prime minister Theresa May's frontbench shake-up, CSW's colleagues on Dods People have put together a profile of Ben Gummer, the man who replaces him as minister for the Cabinet Office

New prime minister brings former Home Office Spads Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy back to the fold

Former special adviser to universities minister David Willetts says moving higher education policy to the Department for Education creates an "extra layer of uncertainty" at a time when institutional memory is needed

Negotiating fresh trade deals in the wake of Britain's departure from the European Union will be a mammoth task – and the civil service must step up its efforts to assemble the right team of experts for the job, says headhunter David Archer

Ex-Cabinet Office minister defends lack of contingency planning – but acknowledges dearth of trade deal expertise

One-month boost to exit packages for all outgoing Spads who were reappointed in 2015 comes as Cabinet Office seeks to reduce civil service redundancy pay – and triggers request for ministerial direction from the department's most senior official, John Manzoni

Sir Andrew Cahn says seismic shifts in departmental structures risk significantly delaying crucial post-EU referendum policy work.

Hancock replaced by ex-junior health minister Ben Gummer in key job determining civil service policy

The new prime minister Theresa May has triggered a major overhaul of Whitehall. CSW has full the details on what the merger of the energy and business departments will mean for staff and policy

Folow all the latest developments as new prime minister Theresa May initiates what looks set to be a major reorganisation of Whitehall departments

Former FCO chief insists old department will be "absolutely at the heart of" new prime minister's task of quitting the European Union

Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin, who was leading the civil service's Brexit work, is out of the government

Cabinet secretary gives nod to existing Brexit unit as he calls on civil service "to ensure everyday business of government and providing public services goes on"

Former Border Force director general Tony Smith spent four decades in Theresa May's old department, the Home Office. Here he tells Matt Foster that while Britain's new prime minister is a demanding boss who does her homework, she's also willing to stick up for her civil servants when push comes to shove

David Davis is secretary of state for exiting the European Union – while Liam Fox will head up new Department for International Trade

Outoing PM says spirit of public service is one of Britain’s “most remarkable qualities”

Minute-by-minute coverage of David Cameron's final prime minister's questions, and Theresa May's first day at Number 10, via CSW's colleagues on PoliticsHome.com

Pay reviews are welcome, say union chiefs – but they must not deepen pay divide between existing staff and external recruits

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) says leaving the EU represents a "whole-of-government project" and must not be hived off into a separate department

Top Tory women said to be in line for Cabinet promotions as Theresa May takes over from David Cameron

Former head of the civil service says he has never accepted that Blair "lied to the British people" over Iraq – but hits out at former prime minister's "disregard for the machinery of government"