Economy

While America’s Californian rappers battle their East Coast rivals, transport chief Philip Rutnam has his own West Coast struggle: the effort to restore his department’s reputation after its rail franchise failure. Matt Ross meets him

Most central government departments will have to cut spending by two per cent over the next two years in order to fund a £2.5bn investment in infrastructure, it has been reported.

The business department’s permanent secretary Martin Donnelly tells Suzannah Brecknell how his department is working to bring businesses and government together, creating strategies designed to kick start Britain's economic growth

The Treasury’s financial accounts are “impenetrable” and the department is neglecting its duty to prevent poor spending decisions, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report published last Friday.

Sir Nicholas Macpherson, the Treasury permanent secretary, last week praised the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the National Audit Office (NAO) for their work in holding departments to account despite the “discomfort” of his fellow permanent secretaries.

The government says that boosting our high-tech industries is key to getting the country’s economy moving again. But do its deeds match its words? Jess Bowie examines Whitehall’s work to support innovative businesses.

Professor Nigel Shadbolt

UK Open Data Adviser; Chairman and Co-Founder of the Open Data Institute

Philip Rutnam

Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport

Dr Malcolm McKibbin

Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service

Permanent Secretary of Welsh Government

Lin Homer

Chief Executive, HM Revenue and Customs

Robert Devereux

Permanent Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions

Martin Donnelly

Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Simon Fraser

Permanent Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The lack of a senior responsible owner for the West Coast Rail franchise project was the “biggest problem” behind the failure of the bidding process, Sam Laidlaw told the House of Commons Transport Committee yesterday.

The sale of Ministry of Defence (MoD) radio frequences could raise £1bn, the Financial Times reported this week. Two radio bands are being sold, with two industry experts telling the newspaper that each is likely to net £4-500m.

The Welsh Government has entered into negotiations to nationalise Cardiff Airport, first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, announced yesterday.

The government has repeatedly come a cropper when outsourcing work, but the number of outsourced projects is only going to grow. Mark Smulian attends a round table on how the civil service can become a shrewder customer

A new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to become fully operational in April 2014, under plans to merge the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission.

A further £22bn in spending cuts or tax rises will be required in the period of the next spending review to 2017-18 if the government is to achieve its goal of eradicating the structural deficit, new analysis says.

The UK’s postcode address database should be released for free use by private companies, the chief executive of the new Open Data Institute (ODI) has told CSW.

Local authorities could have planning powers taken away if they perform poorly, Bob Kerslake, the permanent secretary of the Department for Communities and Local Government and head of the civil service, confirmed on Monday.