Articles

They play an increasingly important part in parliament’s scrutiny of government and can inspire dread in even the most experienced perm sec. Forty years on from the creation of the modern select committee on 25 June 1979, Richard Vize looks at how they affect policy – and the lives of civil servants

The outspoken former chair of the Public Accounts Committee chews the fat with Suzannah Brecknell

The civil service "lost self-confidence" as a result of the coalition's reform, the former Defra and Home Office perm sec tells Sam Macrory, as the pair take tea in Sutton House

Exclusive: Former Home Office permanent secretary says fall in the number of female permanent secretaries is “very disappointing” – and says lack of senior women in the Treasury could be to blame

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.

Permanent Secretary, Home Office

Permanent secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

At Defra, Helen Ghosh ditched Whitehall’s traditional departmental structure in favour of a fluid, project-based system. Now, she tells Matt Ross, we’re facing an even greater revolution in relations between the centre and the front line