Civil Service Reform

Boss of major outsourcing company says deliberate moves by government, as well as "foolishness" by suppliers, have put too much risk on shoulders of firms dealing with big public sector contracts

The chief executive of the Crown Commercial Service has told the Public Accounts Committee that he would rather “take time to build a model that endures” than rush to increase the volume of services bought through and by his centralised procurement team

Worrying projections about our “unsustainable” public finances mean the rhetoric around decentralisation must now become a reality

Minister Ben Gummer says his department is working with the Civil Service Commission to unwind coalition-era reforms – but questions remain over fate of staff already brought into government

Joshua Chambers has travelled the world meeting government innovators. Here, he shares some of their secrets.

Comes after supplier Concentrix "consistently failed to achieve more than half of its performance targets" during first year of its tax credit checks contract

More pre-Budget consultation, the creation of a new Cabinet committee, and a tougher stance from Treasury perm secs feature on think tanks' wish list

Treasury Committee, chaired by Andrew Tyrie (pictured), questions tax authority's plans to make businesses keep digital records and produce quarterly updates

Public Accounts Committee warns councils and refugees are confused by responsibilities and entitlements

Comments from NHS England chief executive prompt former Treasury permanent secretary Nick Macpherson to warn of a "bottomless pit" on health service funding

Special report: In just two years, the Surge and Rapid Response Team has gone from an idea for coping with Whitehall’s spending squeeze to a workforce of more than 300 apprentices ready to be deployed across departments – and cut the civil service's reliance on agency staff. Matt Foster meets the team behind it

Whitehall urged to "increase our specialist recruitment capability" by Government Digital Service adviser

Internal message to HM Revenue & Customs staff – seen by CSW – acknowledges that its estate overhaul will save less than expected, but dismisses talk of a major rethink as "just wrong"

CSW caught up with Microsoft's Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector to discuss transformation in times of austerity, the key to successful major projects and tackling the lack of diversity among digital leaders

Government must do more than just adapt to current processes if it is to make the most of the digital revolution. Colin Marrs reports on a round table, hosted by CSW and Cognizant, where officials discussed the importance of transformation in a fast-changing world

Civil servants spread across three sites will share offices with the Home Office and DCLG by next year

NAO chief says it is time for the department to “step back and consider” its estates strategy as HMRC acknowledges its plans to close most offices will take longer, cost more, and save less than expected

Data Science Accelerator programme adds a new hub as Government Digital Service aims to sharpen Whitehall's use of data

Opening up the government's data sets will make public service commissioning more effective as well as helping service users, argues Andrew Weston of charity think tank New Philanthropy Capital

Senior officials outline significant boost for team of apprentices set up to help departments manage crises and surges in demand

With the end of 2016 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top officials to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2017 – and shed some light on their festive favourites. Sir Jeremy Heywood, cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, takes part in our annual perm secs round-up...

With the end of 2016 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top officials to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2017 – and shed some light on their festive favourites. John Manzoni, chief executive of the civil service and permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office, takes part in our annual perm secs round-up...

With the end of 2016 fast approaching, we asked the UK's top officials to look back at the year, outline their goals for 2017 – and shed some light on their festive favourites. Oliver Robbins, permanent secretary of the Department for Exiting the European Union, takes part in our annual perm secs round-up...

Consultancy firm reportedly offers to “put this matter behind us” after coming under fire from Downing Street over memo on exiting the European Union