Foreign Affairs

New Zealand is reforming its government structures to promote cross-departmental working. Dr Jonathan Coleman explains how.

As governments worldwide wrestle with shrinking budgets, increased volatility and a tide of open data, Matt Ross learns how public service leaders from different countries are meeting the challenges of an ever-changing world

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) should set out an explicit industrial strategy for defence procurement, the Commons’ Defence Committee said in a report published yesterday. Such a strategy would ensure that procurement decisions take account of their likely impact on British businesses, rather than simply pursuing value for money.

The head of military equipment at the Ministry of Defence this week defended delays to major projects which were criticised in a report last month by the National Audit Office.

As the British task force neared the Falkland Islands in 1982, cabinet secretary Sir Robert Armstrong sent prime minister Margaret Thatcher a briefing note raising the question of whether the UK should consider ceding some British territory in the south Atlantic to the Argentinians, documents released under the 30 year rule reveal.

Jon Thompson

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence

Permanent Secretary, Department for International Development

Simon Fraser

Permanent Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

As the National Security Council (NSC) has been evolving, the Home Office has been “looking at the types of subjects it has been taking”, home secretary Teresa May told the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy on Monday.

The Ministry of Defence is struggling to build a financial management system that determines a “single version of the financial truth” and there is a “high risk to delivery” of the department’s strategy for setting out clear management information (MI), according to the Defence Review Annual Report published yesterday by Lord Levene.

The Ministry of Defence is struggling to build a financial management system that determines a “single version of the financial truth” and there is a “high risk to delivery” of the department’s strategy for setting out clear management information (MI), according to the Defence Review Annual Report published yesterday by Lord Levene.