Civil Service Reform

Praise for outgoing Rural Payments Agency chief after troubled period, as Defra announces that Paul Caldwell is stepping up to serve as interim CEO

FDA and Prospect argue enhanced salaries but thin pension offer for staff in the new Government Commercial Organisation will deter civil service interest and fail to attract real private sector talent

Caroline Nokes says savings from estate programme will be used to fund recruitment of frontline advisers, but MPs, including Tory backbenchers, raise concerns over access for claimants

Exclusive: Cabinet secretary says reform agenda remains "strongly supported by ministers" after several key Francis Maude-era initiatives are scrapped, but stresses focus on "embedding leadership at a departmental level"

Exclusive: Cabinet secretary tells CSW that Theresa May feels "very strongly that she and other ministers were elected on a Conservative Party manifesto that must still stand", as he stands by the decision to set up two new Brexit-focused departments

Former head of delivery and innovation at the Government Digital Service to take up new role next month

The Institute for Government warns that Brexit could lead to departments slipping on transparency goals — which have already seen a steep decline since David Cameron’s 2010 open government claims

New report from cross-party group of MPs highlights risks to shake up of police, ambulance and fire service comms — but praises low leadership churn at the Home Office

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