News

Director general Mary Calam to leave civil service after more than two decades, with Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism's Paul Lincoln taking on the job

Microsoft looks at how digital technology can improve firefighter safety 

GDS has been a game-changer for the UK. But Joshua Chambers asks whether the big fish will survive without finding fresh feeding grounds

MPs says there is concern over FCO's focus in spite of boost for human rights spending – but the department says human rights will "always be a central part of our diplomacy"

PHSO says Dr Bill Kirkup will lead investigations into most serious and complex cases brought before the public services watchdog

Chairman of the cross-party Liaison Committee writes to David Cameron to say he believes referendum rules for civil servants take too much power from pro-Brexit ministers

Bishop to lead body which regulates civil service appointments

Second perm sec to announce he is leaving the civil service after vying for top Treasury job

Move designed to allow public sector buyers to complete existing procurements before the switch

Cyber Security Operations Centre to focus on protecting the Ministry of Defence's own networks from attack

Communities and Local Government Committee says local authorities "must be able to have confidence in the effective operation" of the framework drawn up by central government to guide development decisions

The civil service has always had great people, argues former senior Cabinet Office official Andrew Greenway – but it must get better at valuing trust over hierarchy

Radical plan set to ease long-standing tensions between the culture department and the MoD

Bernard Jenkin says his Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee needs more time to scrutinise the government's choice for public appointments watchdog – and the government has yet to name its preferred candidate for the civil service equivalent

Jane Marriott, previously director for the Middle East and North Africa at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, is to head up a new counter-terror unit

As the Treasury's permanent Nick Macpherson this week departs the civil service after more than a decade as the department's most senior official, here's our full conversation with his former boss as chancellor, Alistair Darling – who worked with Macpherson as the Treasury grappled with the 2007-8 global economic crisis

Decade-long IT contract – underpinning £500bn in tax revenue – to come to an early end

Infrastructure and Projects Authority says strong public sector involvement coupled with move away from traditional government structures has been a important factor in the success of capital projects like London 2012 and Crossrail

Former cabinet secretary says it is “highly unlikely” that a withdrawal from the European Union would follow the timetable set out in the rules governing the bloc

Culture minister Ed Vaizey says a central government drive is needed to join up disparate digital technology initiatives being pursued by departments in isolation

DfID’s Angela Balakrishnan tells Max Goldbart how cross-government working and innovative content helped to keep the public informed at the height of the Ebola outbreak

A new book by Beth Simone Noveck – a former open-government adviser to both US president Barack Obama and prime minister David Cameron – contains useful lessons for the civil service on finding the right expertise

Latest batch of MoD land disposals will "make the defence estate more efficient and better suited to the needs of our armed forces", says minister Mark Lancaster

Consultation says moving 4,500 civil servants to the private sector will "bring new knowledge and investment" into the Land Registry – but PCS union says plans are driven by "short-term political choice, not economic necessity"