Analysis

Officials should publish more freely; the media more carefully

Digital technology offers tremendous opportunities for people of all ages. Being able to buy groceries or access a huge amount of information at the click of a button is fantastic, as is the ability to keep in touch with loved ones via email, video link and social media. However, although the opportunities offered online are immense, there are real challenges for some when it comes to getting digitally connected in the first place.

The UK has the highest rate of depression-related sickness in Europe, according to a recent survey by the European Depression Alliance. And alarmingly, over a third of the 792 managers surveyed said they have no formal support in place to help them deal with depressed employees. We have a very long way to go before we can say we’re properly supporting employers and employees in recognising and managing depression in the workplace. And this is certainly true within the civil service.

Never mind the NAO; ministers too hate a risk gone wrong

Efforts to reform the civil service are finally bearing fruit

Now more than ever, the census is vital in ensuring public services and funds are properly allocated, argues Simon Dennis

The MOD must store institutional knowledge in its armoury

Immediately after the election, the government blamed the top-down targets of the regional spatial strategies (RSS) for concreting over the countryside and creating unwanted development. Now we’re told that the planning system must get off people’s backs if the economy is to grow.

When Wikileaks founder Julian Assange sought asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy on 19 June, he created a dispute over when a diplomatic mission enjoys ‘inviolability’. The subject of an extradition request from Sweden for questioning on allegations of rape and sexual molestation, he’d exhausted legal remedies against his extradition when he entered the embassy, apparently with its prior agreement. So what does international law say?

Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration. This is the key to ensuring that government and industry deliver megaprojects as planned.

...and you’ll see the reform plan undergoing a mutation

The government’s Civil Service Reform Plan states: “Given ministers’ direct accountability to Parliament for the performance of their departments and for the implementation of their policy priorities, we believe they should have a stronger role in the recruitment of a permanent secretary.”

The biggest threat to civil service reform is a reshuffle

When the House of Commons this week began to debate the government’s House of Lords Reform Bill, it was dealing with a proposed piece of legislation which has at its heart two objectives: to make the Lords more democratic; and in doing so, to maintain the primacy of the Commons. It fails on both counts.

The government’s reform plans fall well short of the aim of creating a more professional civil service, says Dai Hudd

Good ideas on policymaking meet risky ones on accountability

The open data and transparency agendas must fit their needs

Ministers succeed by working with officials, not against them

The mutuals policy is missing an opportunity to win popularity

If only they’d do the same with elected police commissioners

Despite the rhetoric, government has failed to engage with the charity sector. Just look at the Work Programme, says Stephen Bubb

The Department of Health’s new information strategy sets out plans to standardise data collection in NHS bodies, and to share and use it more effectively. Colin Marrs examines a trailblazer for the open data agenda

The papers have been full of frothy stories and silly stereotypes about the civil service, says Mark Lowcock. This risks distracting us from the real – and very important – challenge of adapting to the tasks at hand