Leadership

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills perm sec Martin Donnelly vows to ensure staff are "fully supported" as he confirms plan to shut Sheffield policy site by January 2018. CSW has full details and reaction from the PCS and FDA unions, Labour, and frontline staff

Dame Judith Hackitt, the new head of the manufacturers’ organisation EEF, spent nine years overseeing the Health & Safety Executive before returning to her roots in industry. Sam Macrory meets her

Department for Business perm sec Martin Donnelly arrives to brief staff on possible St Paul's Place closure plans – as strike action continues

Labour leader backs long-running aim of the Public and Commercial Services union, that would see an end to departmental chiefs setting their own pay for staff

Sir Ian Cheshire says government will publish only “top level” metrics on progress against published Single Departmental Plans – which are themselves summaries of more detailed plans held internally

Civil service diversity champion wants more info on levels of awareness and take-up of workplace adjustments among disabled officials – and says tackling bullying and harassment will require a change in culture

Since CSW last spoke to the Department for Transport’s permanent secretary Philip Rutnam he has taken on the role of disability champion for the civil service. Here, he talks to Suzannah Brecknell about the importance of skilling up his department and his aspirations for helping all staff reach their potential

Tech entrepreneur and government digital adviser tells The House magazine that Government Digital Service was right to  "go fast" in its early years – but says reform efforts must not become "balkanised" in separate departments

Microsoft's Kris Evans offers a glimpse into a hacker's mindset and tactics 

NATS, which manages all flights in UK controlled airspace, has achieved unprecedented results using Microsoft's SQL Server and Azure

Former Department of Health permanent secretary Dame Una O’Brien and the DH's current deputy director of legislation and policy reflect on the lessons from a series of seminars drawing on insights from past healthcare leaders and those working on the innovations of the future

Writing exclusively for CSW, Neil Couling – director general of the Department for Work and Pensions' Universal Credit programme – says strong political backing, a "test and learn" approach to delivery, and giving staff the space to develop has helped get the welfare reform scheme back on track

Microsoft surveys a handful of capabilities offered by SQL Server 2016

Cabinet secretary and head of the civil service Sir Jeremy Heywood responds after critics point to lack of female leaders at the very top of Whitehall

Former Department for Work and Pensions permanent secretary Leigh Lewis finds that Martin Stanley’s new book How to be a Civil Servant offers a valuable guide, but not quite the whole picture

Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union announces one-day strike action of policy officials set to be affected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' plan to close its office in Sheffield

Nearly half of senior managers say they cannot work flexibly, according to a survey by the FDA union — despite a range of policies to encourage better work-life balance

Union general secretary rounds on plans for another overhaul of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, with planned changes "all the more galling” after 2010's negotiations

General secretary of union for senior civil servants says staff cuts taking a toll on membership numbers — but defends move to extend reach with new Keystone initiative

Interim chief Martin Jones has position made permanent

FDA union calls for civil servants to be paid for all overtime, as survey shows an increase in the number of officials working above their contracted hours

Microsoft takes a look at how video conferencing is transforming courtroom efficiency

Appointment of new leader at the energy department comes after the Competition and Markets Authority called for a "reset" of government's relationship with energy suppliers

Specialist union's formal response to Cabinet Office's planned shake-up of Civil Service Compensation Scheme warns of impact on workforce management – and raises prospect of industrial action