News

Mayor of London Boris Johnson tells The House magazine overseeing a combined ministry if Tories win the election is "not going to happen"

What do ministers really think of their civil servants? We spoke to Dawn Primarolo, former minister at the Department for Children, Schools and Families

As the country goes to the polls, here's CSW's full guide to what the 2015 election will mean for the civil service

"Newco" partnerships between the public and private sectors may be complex, but lawyer Louise Fullwood argues that good preparation can help cut the risks

New poll of health workers by Dods Research finds Labour most trusted on NHS, but there is doubt over the main parties' policy pledges

Tom Read leaves chief technology officer job at the Cabinet Office as CTO brief is rolled into new chief digital officer role

"Big data" promises big rewards for government, says Douglas Beal of the Centre for Public Impact. But it must be driven by policy objectives and analysed by staff with the right skills

Former cabinet secretary Gus O'Donnell says fixed term parliament act means minority government could be "relatively" stable

As Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude has overseen the biggest shake-up of the civil service in living memory – and earned a reputation as ‘a man trying to fight everyone in the pub at the same time’. It’s a description he’s proud to embrace, he tells Jess Bowie.

Successful leaders mix ambition, resilience, and the ability to ditch ideas that aren’t working, argues Brunel University’s Professor Zahir Irani

Senior civil servants are used to facing tough questioning from select committees. Elizabeth Bates looks at what the next parliament might have in store for these powerful groups of MPs

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude tells CSW that performance management should move from a system where managers categorise set proportions of staff as performing well, acceptably and poorly to one where employees are individually ranked best to worst

As Whitehall continues to professionalise civil service policy making, the Institute for Policy Research’s director Hugh Lauder shares his perspectives on evidence-based policy, and how the Institute’s new Professional Doctorate in Policy Research and Practice serves to help policy-makers 

It’s two years since the launch of the Major Projects Leadership Academy, a training school designed to improve the leadership of big public sector schemes. With 100 graduates now under its belt, is the programme achieving its aims? Colin Marrs reports

Lord Falconer is the man entrusted by Ed Miliband with preparing Labour for government. Here he speaks to Matt Foster about the party’s plans for Whitehall, and why he thinks the coalition has got its relationship with the civil service "dramatically wrong". Photos by Louise Haywood-Schiefer

Thirty three companies take the lion’s share of central government procurement spending, between them receiving roughly £10bn of Whitehall money each year. But who are they? Do they truly understand the public sector? And do civil servants trust them? Rebecca Sims-Robinson crunches the numbers.

Another inconclusive election will mean uncertainty for the country – and complex challenges for Whitehall, says the Institute for Government's Peter Riddell

With the general election looming, Geoff Mulgan and Stian Westlake of the innovation think tank Nesta​ say any prime minister who wants to get things done needs to seriously consider changes to the centre of government

Five years ago, Gus O’Donnell was a key player in the delicate transition to a coalition government. Peter Hennessy asks the former cabinet secretary what we might expect after next month’s vote

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg promises above-inflation payrise for public sector from 2019 if party holds "balance of power"

Journalist Jane Dudman assesses the state of Whitehall as it prepares for a new government

Exclusive: Labour peer in charge of preparing party for government says he wants to avoid "civil service wars" associated with creating, scrapping and merging departments, but eyes greater role for Number 10

A learning support assistant tells Sarah Aston about the unintended effects Labour’s inclusion policy is having on mainstream schools over a decade after it was introduced. Illustration by John Levers

Policy-makers around the world are using open data to bolster their development programmes, says Liz Carolan of the Open Data Institute