Economy

Weaker growth and delayed sales of government assets expected to contribute to missed target

"The obvious efficiency savings have come through in the early period," says former head of the civil service – as chancellor prepares to outline £4bn of further spending cuts

Tax authority challenged the legality of two offshore schemes designed by the banks to avoid paying tax on bankers' bonuses

"We also think it unlikely that anyone earning less than £27,000 would be hit by the cap," says BIS minister, as government sees off Labour plan to tie limit to inflation and exempt the private sector

Defeat on BIS plans came after a last-ditch attempt by George Osborne to stave off a Tory rebellion

DCMS permanent secretary Sue Owen says department is "just about" at the minimum levels of staffing it needs to do its job –  but says department is in a "much, much more fortunate place" than expected before the Spending Review

Tom Walker – who heads cross-government cities and local growth team – hails "ever closer integration" and close support of the Treasury as ministers press ahead with devolution drive

Iconic Whitehall building sold as part of MoD plans to make estate savings. Department says it will be "sympathetically restored, redeveloped and re-imagined as a high quality hotel and residential apartments"

Cabinet secretary tells the public administration and constitutional affairs select committee that "nobody's having any difficulty with my guidance on the ground", as eurosceptics hit out at curbs on civil service support for ministers in favour of Britain leaving the European Union

Treasury perm sec Nick Macpherson says incoming HMRC chief exec Thompson will focus on "spending the money", while executive chair Edward Troup will oversee "strategic, policy and reputational leadership" of the tax authority

Interviews for the top Treasury job get going this week – as Macpherson jokes process could "go into a black hole for many months"

Senior Tory says Treasury should take the lead on official stats as Cabinet Office and UK Statistics Authority "have been asleep at the wheel"

Cabinet secretary will be questioned by the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday, after ministers in favour of leaving the EU question guidance on use of official resources

Lord Kerslake says it is “impossible to see why any fair person would want to remove this very basic service” - and vows to "sing the national anthem" if the government shelves plans to end automatic "check off" of fees from civil servants' pay packets

Cabinet office minister Matt Hancock says the ONS - which moved out of London in the mid-2000s - will stay in Newport to to act as a "big data hub" in the region

Thompson to succeed Lin Homer as chief executive, while tax specialist Edward Troup to chair the board's executive committee

Public Accounts Committee criticises lack of transparency over HM Revenue and Customs' £130m, ten-year tax deal with Google – but says department has taken "a step in the right direction" in pledging reform of penalty regime

The legal team at the government-owned British Business Bank has brought together public and private sector expertise to create a new organisation with a challenging mandate – to boost lending to thousands of small and medium-sized businesses. Shanika Amarasekara, general counsel for the bank, shares her team's experience 

National Audit Office report says Cabinet Office's Fraud, Error and Debt team is "growing into a centre of expertise" – but warns departmental data is "often variable and not sufficient" to keep tabs on the true scale of public sector fraud

Powerful Economic and Domestic Secretariat to get a new deputy director to help departments focus on longer-term trends and the impact of technology

Treasury committee says 2014 intervention by then-chief secretary Danny Alexander “gives the appearance of a minister trying to lean on the OBR”

Why did George Osborne and his officials not admit that the tax system is not fit for purpose in 21st century Britain?

English devolution is a journey without a clear destination – producing a long overdue rebalancing of power, but within continuing tight financial constraints

Over the last decade the civil service has managed significant reductions in headcount. Why place all of this in jeopardy?