Economy

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

Opinion: A private business of comparable size would give as much data as possible to its leaders, to enable them to assess competing priorities

As the Spending Review looms, Stian Westlake of Nesta argues that reducing the influence of the Treasury could replace the essay-crisis drama of Budgets and Autumn Statements with a more thoughtful budgetary process

Sale price £280m more than the “book value”, George Osborne announces