All articles written by Jonathan Owen on civilserviceworld.com

21 Sep 2023 Energy & Environment

Force of Nature: Conservation authority boss Gemma Harper on the urgent need for collaboration

In the battle against climate change and the biodiversity crisis, government-wide collaboration is a must. CSW talks to Dr Gemma Harper, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee chief executive tasked with keeping UK public bodies on track for a sustainable, nature-first future

18 Sep 2023 Foreign Affairs

UK aid impoverished by FCO-DfID merger, report warns

Officials have been faced with ‘strategic drift’ in recent years, aid watchdog says

15 Sep 2023 Project Delivery

Honesty needed over problematic major projects, PAC says

Officials need help to make “hard decisions” on projects that are failing

12 Sep 2023 Health & Social Care

A 3am A&E trip and ‘Yes, Minister’ moments: Five things we learned from the IfG’s latest Ministers Reflect interviews

Former constitution minister Chloe Smith ended up in hospital after working too hard, whilst Brandon Lewis clashed with an official on his first day as minister

11 Sep 2023 Justice & Home Affairs

MoJ’s 'dysfunctional' relationship with Home Office revealed by ex-justice secretary

Sir Robert Buckland lays bare the tensions between the two departments

08 Sep 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants

Counter-fraud specialists lack credibility with senior officials, MPs warn

Government ‘flying blind’ when it comes to fraud, PAC chair says

05 Sep 2023 Finance

'We expect them to run a multibillion-pound department with no training’: Ministers' budget-management woes

A former cabinet minister calls for financial training for incoming ministers

01 Sep 2023

Row between ex-civil service HR chief and Acoba chair gets personal

Thinly veiled insults are being traded in an escalating dispute over Acoba’s decision to censure former senior civil servant Rupert McNeil

17 Aug 2023 Civil Service Reform

Cabinet sub-committees 'not effective', ex-education secretary claims

Former education secretary Estelle Morris criticises the conventional approach to cross-departmental working

07 Aug 2023 Leadership

‘Get used to knowing less than everyone else’: Ex-ministers share tips on starting in a new role

Former Cabinet Office minister also reveals how they were accidentally offered two jobs in a reshuffle

07 Aug 2023 Foreign Affairs

FCDO officials censured over failure to help torture victim

Consular staff did not follow their own rules and repeatedly failed to spot the signs that a British academic jailed in Abu Dhabi might have been tortured

04 Aug 2023 Finance

New financial deal agreed with the Scottish Government

The Scottish Government will be able to borrow more under the deal

04 Aug 2023 Security & Defence

Climate change dropped from government risk register

The first overhaul of the UK’s risk register since 2020 marks a significant departure from the previous approach to anticipating future threats

03 Aug 2023 HR

First ever female appointed to lead Government Actuary's Department

Fiona Dunsire makes history by becoming first woman to be government’s top pensions adviser

21 Jul 2023 Civil Service Reform

Civil service terms and conditions to change in lobbying crackdown

Civil servants will also be under greater scrutiny over contact with lobbyists, in the government’s long awaited response to calls for reforms over lobbying rules

19 Jul 2023 Politics & Constitution

Sunak urged to give civil service vote of confidence

Constitutional reforms are needed to rebuild trust in the political system and restore relations between ministers and civil servants, researchers say

18 Jul 2023 HR

Strikes looming over public sector pay in Northern Ireland

Civil servants are disadvantaged compared to the rest of the UK, unions claim

17 Jul 2023 HR

Quality of SCS called into question by pay review body

Concerns are being raised that the calibre of senior civil servants is falling, amid rising turnover driven by a desire for better pay and prospects

13 Jul 2023 Civil Service Reform

Rules over public bodies should be re-written, IFG says

Think tank calls for arm’s-length bodies to be seen as a viable option rather than a last resort

12 Jul 2023 Communications

New online safety regime will cost £169m, Ofcom says

Challenges remain in regulating more than 100,000 online services

07 Jul 2023 Coronavirus

Covid Inquiry: Officials 'flying blind' without ministers, NI perm sec warns

“Unacceptable” ministerial absence in Northern Ireland before the pandemic hindered contingency planning, perm sec says

06 Jul 2023 Finance

UKHSA condemned by MPs for 'staggering' financial failings

Public spending watchdog also accuses DHSC of wasting billions on unusable PPE, and Covid-19 vaccines and drugs it does not expect to use

05 Jul 2023 HR

Ex-civil service HR chief condemned for ‘blatant’ breaches of lobbying rules

Rupert McNeil reprimanded for ignoring Acoba advice and falling foul of the rules in the process

27 Sep 2022 Communications

Former Home Office DG rapped over returning to department as consultant

Ex-official breached business appointment rules by failing to seek anti-corruption watchdog's advice

28 Jul 2022 Communications

Revealed: Tony Blair taken to task by officials over poor performance at PMQs

Newly released papers reveal how the then-prime minister was heavily criticised by his own officials

18 May 2022 Finance

Saving grace: NS&I chief Ian Ackerley on Covid turbulence, select committee grillings and green investment

The chief executive of Britain’s venerable state-owned savings bank talks about its pandemic savings push, reputation management and transforming his organisation

22 Sep 2020 Economy

BEIS permanent secretary seeking £130k successor for her old job

Senior roles in business department key to ‘leading Britain’s recovery from coronavirus’, candidates told

21 Sep 2020 Coronavirus

Rail franchising system scrapped

New ‘recovery’ contracts given to rail firms ahead of new system coming into force

21 Sep 2020 Civil Service Reform

Government accused of breaking civil service rules on Harding appointment

Appointing Dido Harding to head up the National Institute for Health Protection is a breach of the civil service code, Labour peers claim

17 Sep 2020 Education

Education secretary fails to back officials over A-Level grades row

Gavin Williamson would not be drawn on whether he was happy with the advice he had been given by senior DfE officials

16 Sep 2020 Coronavirus

Unions accuse Hancock of failing to ‘properly consult’ over creation of NIHP

Civil service unions have serious concerns over the new health body

27 Feb 2020 Government Tax Profession

Blunting the spike: how government is working to cut knife crime

Knife crime has hit a record high in England but it is hardly a new phenomenon. Jonathan Owen looks at what is driving current levels and how police and civil servants are responding in new ways

02 Jan 2020 Digital, Data & Technology

Cabinet Office offers assistance after honours data leak ‘disaster’

More than 1,000 people, including civil service chief executive John Manzoni, top health experts, scientists and senior government advisers, have had their addresses made public