Leadership

Menna Rawlings went from being HR director in a government department to serving as the UK's high commissioner in Australia – not the most obvious career move. But, as she explains, the two roles have more in the common than you might think...

The former top official at the Department for Work and Pensions shares his Whitehall reflections with CSW editor Jess Bowie

Find out which civil servants and departmental teams are in the running for an award

Regulator overseeing civil service recruitment makes four appointments – with strong emphasis on private sector backgrounds

Civil service gender champion Melanie Dawes acknowledges past failure on diversity challenge, but says senior civil service committed to tackling “dangers of group think”

"This is the start of regaining control of the IT estate," says outgoing DVLA digital chief Iain Patterson, as agency moves services back in-house

Cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood unveils new external diversity advisers

Workforce shrinks by 8,000 posts – with GovCos and privatisations accounting for much of the change

Director general for civil service reform to take up post as Home Office’s second permanent secretary, with responsibility for immigration and free movement

When members of the public want to complain about government bodies, it falls to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate. Sarah Aston speaks to the watchdog's newly-appointed non-executive directors Julia Tabreham and Ruth Sawtell about efforts to simplify the system, and change the perception that complaining doesn't make a difference

Lord Macdonald tells File on 4 that policy and legal advice functions will “suffer” amid squeeze on resources – but current director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders praises "dedicated" staff

With the new cross-government learning contract currently out to tender, Civil Service Learning director Hilary Spencer explains how the system will work in future – and why it will pave the way for better public services 

Treasury minister Greg Hands tells pay review bodies to target higher rises in areas which would improve recruitment and retention

What’s life like at the sharp end of public services? A modern foreign languages teacher tells Sarah Aston about the pros and cons of changes to the schools system

Public and Commercial Services union makes "strong representations" to tax authority about "timescale and process" of 90-day talks, which department says may result in compulsory redundancies

Unionised civil servants to lose right to automatic payroll deduction of fees - known as “check-off” - under plans set out by Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock

What do ministers really think of their civil servants? We asked Liberal Democrat former justice minister Simon Hughes to appraise the civil service

Cabinet Office says departure of the government's digital chief will prompt rethink of the "best structure for the next phase of digital transformation"

Annual report from the Civil Service Commission says senior civil service pay curbs could lead to loss of "some of the most talented" officials

BIS and DfE urged to take "strategic" action over struggling colleges, while separate report confirms that the Skills Funding Agency's accounts have been qualified

PCS members in two-day walkout over "oppressive" Universal Credit working conditions, but department says plans in place for "smooth running" of the service

Letters published on Thursday night show that Cabinet Office perm sec sought rare ministerial direction over fresh grant to the charity, but Matt Hancock and Oliver Letwin say they had agreed "clear conditions" for the funding

Sir Simon Fraser expresses regret over lack of women on shortlist to succeed him as Foreign Office permanent secretary

Outgoing Foreign Office permanent secretary stresses the need for “balance” between the centre of government and individual departments ahead of further reforms