Ministerial directions and a 'powerful' board: Think tank's 'draft bill' sets out vision for statutory civil service
13 May Civil Service Reform

Ministerial directions and a 'powerful' board: Think tank's 'draft bill' sets out vision for statutory civil service

Cab sec would have responsibility for appointment and performance management of perm secs under IfG proposals
by Tevye Markson
Departments have underestimated threat posed by cyberattacks, MPs warn
13 May Security & Defence
Departments have underestimated threat posed by cyberattacks, MPs warn
Fact checker defends ex-perm sec over pension-reform claims
13 May Communications
Fact checker defends ex-perm sec over pension-reform claims
Call for 'bold investment decisions' to address prison crisis
12 May Justice & Home Affairs
Call for 'bold investment decisions' to address prison crisis
MPs question return on DHSC’s ‘staggering’ £37bn NHS Test and Trace programme
10 Mar 2021 Coronavirus
MPs question return on DHSC’s ‘staggering’ £37bn NHS Test and Trace programme
Report flags “persistent reliance” on thousands of consultants, paid up to £6,624 a day and significant unused laboratory capacity for coronavirus tests
Government 'consulting hub' to be set up next year
10 Mar 2021 Civil Service Reform
Government 'consulting hub' to be set up next year
Treasury minute also reveals plans to "enhance strategic workforce planning" to plug skills gaps and reduce reliance on private firms
RSS demands ‘full review’ of government’s use of health statistics
09 Mar 2021 Coronavirus
RSS demands ‘full review’ of government’s use of health statistics
One year on from their Covid-19 action plan, ministers need to start learning lessons, says Royal Statistical Society
Civil service COO details department staffing plans for next phase of Brexit
09 Mar 2021 Brexit
Civil service COO details department staffing plans for next phase of Brexit
Alex Chisholm tells MPs Border Force needs 2,000 extra staff while Defra is funding training for 500 new Port Health Authority officials
Home Office housed asylum seekers in ‘unsafe’ barracks during Covid pandemic
09 Mar 2021 Justice & Home Affairs
Home Office housed asylum seekers in ‘unsafe’ barracks during Covid pandemic
Department says it expects ‘highest possible standards from our service providers and have instructed them to make improvements at the site’
PM plans £9m hi-tech ‘situation room’ in Cabinet Office
09 Mar 2021 Security & Defence
PM plans £9m hi-tech ‘situation room’ in Cabinet Office
White House-style nerve centre will form Whitehall focus of defence, security and foreign policy review next week
International Women's Day: Treasury solicitor praises progress on gender equality but warns against complacency
08 Mar 2021 Legal
International Women's Day: Treasury solicitor praises progress on gender equality but warns against complacency
Susanna McGibbon becomes the second woman to hold the post
Home Office urged to improve 'disjointed' work on modern slavery
08 Mar 2021 Justice & Home Affairs
Home Office urged to improve 'disjointed' work on modern slavery
Immigration inspector finds "little evidence of a plan" to address flaws in work
‘Not appropriate’ to comment on volume of disinformation flagged by government unit, minister says
08 Mar 2021 Communications
‘Not appropriate’ to comment on volume of disinformation flagged by government unit, minister says
Digital minister Dinenage declines to detail the work of the Counter Disinformation Unit
Latest civil service & public affairs moves — March 8
08 Mar 2021
Latest civil service & public affairs moves — March 8
New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues at Dods People
Ministers accused of having ‘no plan’ for net zero, two years after setting target
08 Mar 2021 Energy & Environment
Ministers accused of having ‘no plan’ for net zero, two years after setting target
MPs also warn government lacks clarity on its ambitions for November’s COP26 and question diplomatic resources for pre-conference negotiations
DWP plans to hire hundreds of digital staff this year
08 Mar 2021 Digital, Data & Technology
DWP plans to hire hundreds of digital staff this year
Department seeks to enable ‘once-in-a-generation’ transformation
Kwarteng scraps Industrial Strategy Council and hints at BEIS rebrand
05 Mar 2021 Civil Service Reform
Kwarteng scraps Industrial Strategy Council and hints at BEIS rebrand
Business secretary tells members move will "mark a departure from the industrial strategy brand"
Former Government Legal Department head Jonathan Jones joins top law firm
05 Mar 2021 HR
Former Government Legal Department head Jonathan Jones joins top law firm
Appointments watchdog Acoba admits potential risks exist but clears new role with Linklaters
Former Home Office perm sec Rutnam settles constructive dismissal case
04 Mar 2021 HR
Former Home Office perm sec Rutnam settles constructive dismissal case
Priti Patel spared employment tribunal appearance as ex-official reaches “six figure settlement” over departure from government
‘More important than ever that stats are credible’: RSS invites entries for awards
04 Mar 2021 Statistics
‘More important than ever that stats are credible’: RSS invites entries for awards
Government statisticians asked to put projects forward for two trophies
Budget 2021: Pay freeze anger as figures show rising cost to civil servants
04 Mar 2021 Finance
Budget 2021: Pay freeze anger as figures show rising cost to civil servants
IFS warns non-protected departments face new financial squeeze while Labour claims £30bn has been “cut” from NHS budget
Budget 2021: Sunak sets out £280m investment in HMRC
03 Mar 2021 Digital, Data & Technology
Budget 2021: Sunak sets out £280m investment in HMRC
Cash will cover 1,265-strong task force to combat Covid-19 support-scheme fraud and IT upgrades to boost tax revenue
Budget 2021: Sunak ups Covid support but warns of need to 'rebuild fiscal resilience'
03 Mar 2021 Coronavirus
Budget 2021: Sunak ups Covid support but warns of need to 'rebuild fiscal resilience'
OBR warns departments could face "increasingly tight budgets" as chancellor pledges to rebuild "fiscal resilience”
Budget 2021: Chancellor confirms home of Treasury's northern base
03 Mar 2021 Civil Service Reform
Budget 2021: Chancellor confirms home of Treasury's northern base
Darlington will be home to the "economic campus", Rishi Sunak says
Environment watchdog to launch on interim basis
03 Mar 2021 Energy & Environment
Environment watchdog to launch on interim basis
The OEP cannot become a statutory body until the environment bill passes
PM eyes charity for No.10 makeover to bypass ‘cheap’ civil service
03 Mar 2021 Finance
PM eyes charity for No.10 makeover to bypass ‘cheap’ civil service
Reports suggest latest upgrade plans cost more than three times the official £30k spending limit
Cabinet Office names new propriety and ethics DG
03 Mar 2021 HR
Cabinet Office names new propriety and ethics DG
Darren Tierney will leave DIT to follow in footsteps of Sue Gray and Helen MacNamara
Ex-PM Cameron criticises May and Johnson for Whitehall ‘mistakes’
02 Mar 2021 Security & Defence
Ex-PM Cameron criticises May and Johnson for Whitehall ‘mistakes’
Coalition-era PM slams “very bad” error of combining cab sec and national security adviser roles plus merger of DfID and FCO