Economy

You can’t take the politics out of big projects, but strengthening the National Infrastructure Commission and building the evidence base will lead to wiser decisions

Think-tank analysis identifies concessions on residency rights, a £39bn bill on the ‘never-never’, and hand-tying assurances on Northern Ireland in draft agreement

Senior officials past and present react to draft first-phase divorce agreement between UK and EU

 Public Accounts Committee criticises departments' “business as usual” assumption for 2019 and berates pace of pan-Whitehall Border Planning Group 

NAO report calls on the government to ensure regulatory reforms can improve student perceptions of value for money

Tax agency has signed a 25-year lease on London office for 3,800 staff

Infrastructure and Projects Authority says new team will be created to ensure costs and schedules of major schemes are achievable

NI Audit Office says government is not delivering value for money on its ageing and inefficient office estate

New directors general roles announced after DIT expands by 1,000 staff in a year

Two parliamentary reports highlight problems at Irish border and frustration at perceived Whitehall “power grab”

Department leads on over one-fifth of the cross-Whitehall projects that need to be implemented for EU exit, according to auditors

Health and education departments first to benefit from ‘confidence and supply’ agreement

When facing a policy puzzle, civil servants shouldn’t see trade associations as adversaries. As former trade body chair Sir Mark Boleat explains, they can be a useful resource for the savvy official

Policy Institute warns that current Whitehall structures "lack of strategic thinking and leadership" to implement the industrial strategy

MPs accuse DExEU of "contempt" after sectoral analysis handed to Brexit committee was stripped of market-sensitive information

Polly Payne and Ruth Hannant named directors general for Rail Group in move hailed by perm sec as progress in "overwhelmingly male" industry

Flagship government document identifies four "grand challenges" that UK must address to take advantage of global economic trends

Government claims better use of location data produced by public bodies could grow the economy by £11bn a year

Association of Revenue and Customs warns government not rely on “goodwill” to deliver £155m recovery package with no progress on pay

The plans announced in the 2017 Budget may help to tackle Britain’s housing shortage in the long term. But in the short term, the extension of Help to Buy and the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers is good politics but poor policy.

Additional powers for the new Homes England among raft of housing policies announced in 2017 Budget

Live coverage and reaction as chancellor sets out the 2017 Budget, provided by our colleagues on PoliticsHome.com. CSW will be have the key Whitehall stories and reaction throughout the afternoon

GLD is hiring lawyers from the north of England to work in new regional centre

Civil service poll shows a more engaged workforce but analysis of the figures shows up several pockets of dissatisfaction