Economy

Senior Department for Transport official – who has served as deputy director for high speed rail strategy – will head up George Osborne's Commission

Ministers keep talking about hammering down public sector terms to private sector levels, while dreaming up new exemptions in order to compete

Furious online reaction to Spending Review blog prompts response by cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood and civil service chief executive John Manzoni – with the pair emphasising areas where civil service is more flexible than the private sector

Civil service chief executive John Manzoni says government "making good" on promise to open up public sector procurement to smaller firms

Report by former deputy governor of the Bank of England says 90% of ONS staff were “unwilling to move” out of London, leading to a “loss of knowledge and experience”

Amid reports chancellor looking to cut voluntary civil service redundancy payouts by a further six months – a move first floated in 2010 – unions warn of "war by the government against its own staff"

Former head of the civil service drafts in TUC chief Frances O'Grady and ex-KPMG deputy Alan Buckle to assess whether the Treasury is "fit for purpose"

Institute for Fiscal Studies says talk of "end to austerity" is premature

Chancellor eyes more austerity in first interview since yesterday’s cuts announcements – while the IFS says departmental settlement is "very, very tight"

Ministers reportedly seeking vote on the self-imposed welfare cap after tax credits rethink

CSW rounds up the big Spending Review stories and analysis ahead of the chancellor's statement to the Commons at 12:30pm

The Department for Transport has addressed the causes of the failed West Coast rail franchise, the NAO spending watchdog finds – but risks remain to future competitions as work on HS2 delays the new West Coast franchise by six months