Leadership

Once credited as the woman who “smashed Whitehall’s glass ceiling”, Bronwyn Hill spent four years as Defra permanent secretary until she stepped down in 2015. She tells Sam Macrory about her new role, Brexit expectations for her former fiefdom, and one minister’s time in the mire

UK Government Investments – which leads on the management and privatisation of state assets – seeks new director

Just before he stepped down as permanent secretary of the Welsh Government, Sir Derek Jones told CSW's Suzannah Brecknell why, despite the challenges ahead, civil servants should be confident – and why creativity is as important as penning an elegant memo

From pensions to student loans, actuaries play a vital role in analysis risk right across government. Here, the government actuary explains his work

Former head of the civil service's review for Labour says Treasury must "up its game" on financial expertise; do more to support regional growth; and stop "second guessing" departments

Government Digital Service director general Kevin Cunnington tells CSW's sister site PublicTechnology that government is “on track to finish" ambitious overhaul set out in the last parliament

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

Think tank says long-awaited vision has no detail on resource allocation and a telling absence of public support from prime minister Theresa May and chancellor Philip Hammond

Union cries foul over “unprecedented” redundancies made with 24 hours’ notice at rights watchdog

Government Transformation Strategy sets out plans to encourage a pro-digital culture change in Whitehall, with unified pay strategy for central government roles

Newly-released interviews by the Institute for Government offer a fascinating insight into politicians’ views of the Whitehall machine. They ain’t all that flattering, finds Suzannah Brecknell...

Some staff are still uncertain about joining the GCO, Institute for Government researchers find, though the reforms to improve commercial capability are already making an impact

Education department picks former Number 10 Delivery Unit chief to lead competition-focused new universities regulator

Ex-first civil service commissioner Sir David Normington calls for new guidance on the relationship between civil servants, ministers and special advisers, as he urges the prime minister and cabinet secretary to make a public statement on the need for impartial officials

MPs quiz three departmental chiefs on the role of special advisers – and the impact of briefings against civil servants

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

Whitehall insider-turned-academic Richard Mottram says EU referendum and its aftermath underscores the uphill struggle of speaking truth to power

First Civil Service Commissioner Ian Watmore tells CSW that departments will now be able to bring in senior staff for up to three years and on a maximum salary of £142,000 without having to go through an open recruitment process

Praise for outgoing Rural Payments Agency chief after troubled period, as Defra announces that Paul Caldwell is stepping up to serve as interim CEO

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

Exclusive: Cabinet secretary says reform agenda remains "strongly supported by ministers" after several key Francis Maude-era initiatives are scrapped, but stresses focus on "embedding leadership at a departmental level"

Exclusive: Cabinet secretary tells CSW that Theresa May feels "very strongly that she and other ministers were elected on a Conservative Party manifesto that must still stand", as he stands by the decision to set up two new Brexit-focused departments

Five years into his job as the UK's top official, Sir Jeremy Heywood faces his greatest challenge yet – ensuring the civil service he leads is ready for the mammoth task of leaving the European Union. Jess Bowie and Matt Foster sit down with the cabinet secretary to talk Brexit, Theresa May, public sector pay – and the future of Whitehall's reform agenda

Green light from the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee follows hearing in which he said the Government Statistical Service appeared to have been “downgraded” over the years