Leadership

With the end of 2015 in sight, we asked Whitehall's top officials to review the year, set out their priorities for 2016 – and shed some light on their festive plans. Sir Simon McDonald, permanent secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, takes part in our biggest-ever perm secs round-up series...

With the end of 2015 in sight, we asked Whitehall's top officials to review the year, set out their priorities for 2016 – and shed some light on their festive plans. John Pullinger, UK National Statistician and head of the Government Statistical Service, takes part in our biggest-ever perm secs round-up series...

With the end of 2015 in sight, we asked Whitehall's top officials to review the year, set out their priorities for 2016 – and shed some light on their festive plans. Sally Collier, chief executive of the Crown Commercial Service, takes part in our biggest-ever perm secs round-up series...

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

With the end of 2015 in sight, we asked Whitehall's top officials to review the year, set out their priorities for 2016 – and shed some light on their festive plans. Robert Devereux, permanent secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions, takes part in our biggest ever perm secs round-up series...

With the end of 2015 in sight, we asked Whitehall's top officials to review the year, set out their priorities for 2016 – and shed some light on their festive plans. Alex Aiken, executive director of government communications, kicks off our perm secs round-up series...

Vince Cable, Chris Huhne, Andrew Mitchell, Caroline Spelman and more provide the Institute for Government with their views on their officials, the Whitehall machine, and dealing with the centre of government

Cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood pays tribute to the prime minister’s late principal private secretary Chris Martin, a remarkable official who embodied the enduring values of the civil service he loved

Welsh first minister says there is “no real machinery for a regular heads of government meeting” – as Silk Commission chair reveals he considered calling for separate civil service.

National Audit Office survey finds concern among government's digital leaders over their ability to recruit and retain staff – but there's support for many Cabinet Office intiatives to sharpen tech skills

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"

As first civil service commissioner, it’s Sir David Normington’s job to ensure civil servants are appointed on merit — but the commission also tries to ensure that the values of honesty, impartiality, integrity and objectivity are upheld. And, as Normington writes, those values are one of the civil service’s major selling points