Economy

Former DIT permanent secretary calls for the Brexit debate to focus on the evidence, following personal criticism from international trade secretary Liam Fox

MPs slam Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for needlessly complex contract but add that business department and Treasury cannot escape blame

Foreign and Commonwealth Office to remove all avoidable single-use plastics from UK estate by end of year

Former international trade permanent secretary Martin Donnelly to give speech undermining Brexit vision of Liam Fox 

Cabinet Office minister to promise vast majority of powers returning from Brussels will start off in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – not Whitehall

Council to bankroll new office development in drive for share of Brexit-related quango expansion

Firm says bolstered transparency, a fair dealing ethos and more break-clauses should be introduced in wake of Carillion’s demise

Report suggests UK’s top negotiator is increasingly frustrated at being sidelined in Brexit talks

Departmental perm sec reveals Brexit funding for 2018-19 has not yet been agreed with the Treasury

Environment select committee calls on department to analyse impact of Brexit on agriculture and introduce fund for UK farmers

Department consults on revamp of its Public Attitudes Tracker to cover workers’ rights and corporate transparency

As cross-party power-sharing talks collapse, decisions made by senior officials in absence of an executive are challenged in Belfast High Court