Analysis

An official responsible for an IT contracting error which cost the Ministry of Defence (MoD) £70m is no longer working for the department, its permanent secretary Jon Thompson told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 16 June​.

‘Forced ranking’ is alienating those sympathetic to reform

The government’s ambitious service reform plans effectively ignore digital exclusion, argues Labour front-bencher Chi Onwurah

The lack of a diversity strategy speaks volumes

The long-term impact of a changing climate is cruelly revealing the weaknesses in our government structures, argues Will Day

Select committees are set to broaden the debate, argues Professor Patrick Dunleavy of the London School of Economics.

Sharing sterling would threaten both Scotland and the rump UK

We need to rethink education – and the DfE’s response to constructive critics, says David Bell

The prime minister should be able to pick permanent secretaries from a list of good candidates, argues Guy Lodge of the IPPR

Even small constitutional changes can have big implications

Starved of investment, the civil service is losing key skills.

No-one likes to be stereotyped, but using employee engagement surveys to categorise and understand employees makes sense, argues Jonny Gifford of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Among the departments, the DfT has seen most churn at the top – but since 2010, half have lost as many director-generals as they employ. As Jon Stone reports, turnover among perm secs and junior ministers is even faster

Looking for half-full glasses, Dave Penman finds more half-empty ones. Is the government, ever-keen to cut and criticise, drunk on power?

With the cuts in decline, the focus is on rebuilding capability

Ministers must promise to share the rewards of recovery

Civil service reform doesn’t address the big questions, says Patrick Diamond: we need a Northcote-Trevelyan Act for the 21st century

If UK grant funders shared information, says Dawn Austwick, their money could go a lot further: let’s move open data into new spaces

We need democratic oversight of ministerial policy advisers.

Government must create a proper structure to support and empower its increasingly professional finance staff, says Rob Whiteman

As youth unemployment rises to almost a million, Graeme Cooke of the IPPR sets out measures that could help reverse this trend

The FoIA’s critics would trade accountability for convenience

The UK economy is stumbling back into growth, but still remains over three per cent smaller than it was before the global financial crisis in 2008. Real wages have declined in this period – the worse squeeze in living standards for a generation.