Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Defence’s land and property management arm, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), is working on a plan to radically shrink its estate through land sales, its chief executive Andrew Manley has said in an interview with CSW. Manley is also close to tendering for a commercial partner for DIO, in a move that will bring in estates development and sales skills to help the ministry get the best possible price for its asse

The aircraft carrier replacement programme has been dogged by indecision, delays and rising costs – and now a U-turn looms. Becky Slack examines one of Britain’s biggest and most dysfunctional public procurements.

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Computer hackers have threatened to repeatedly attack government websites, following cyber-attacks that caused the Home Office website to crash last weekend.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact has raised concerns about the financial management of DfID’s aid projects in Afghanistan, which are worth up to £178m in 2011-12.

Despite a change of approach in Whitehall, civil servants in Northern Ireland will continue to pursue ‘spend to save’, Dr Malcolm McKibbin, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), has told CSW.

As head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Dr Malcolm McKibbin has a very challenging job. However, as he tells Joshua Chambers, the main challenge has evolved from ending the Troubles to stimulating business growth

After nearly 22 months, the Commons select committees’ first elected chairs have had plenty of time to size up their Whitehall counterparts. Joshua Chambers asked them how the departments they watch have been performing

Departmental select committee chairs have provided mixed reviews of the departments they scrutinise for a Civil Service World Special Report, which has found that 40 per cent of them are dissatisfied with departments’ responses to their reports.

Leading Tory thinker Nick Boles has challenged the government’s immigration cap, arguing that the policy threatens the ability of Britain’s universities to contribute to economic growth.

Permanent Secretary, Department for International Development

The Stabilisation Unit is already a well-established cross-departmental partnership, and its role is set to grow. Suzannah Brecknell meets its head to discuss conflict prevention – both overseas, and within Whitehall.