Civil Service Reform

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"