Analysis

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.

Challenge must be encouraged, no matter what the project.

New Zealand's civil service believes that their central government needs one single web portal. Their digital team write about how they’ve taken inspiration from gov.uk.

Britain is not ready to cope with its ageing society – and government should say more on the subject, argues Lord Geoffrey Filkin, chairman of the Lords Committee on Public Service and Demographic Change.

Number 10’s briefing against Sir Bob Kerslake was motivated by a desire to speed up civil service reform – but in the short term, at least, publicly undermining the civil service chief is likely to achieve just the opposite.

America’s fracking revolution has driven down energy prices and given the economy a boost – but could the same happen here? CSW asked the Institute of Directors’ Corin Taylor and energy expert Professor Jim Watson of the University of Sussex to address the question: will fracking be good for the UK?

Improve IT, HR and training – and policy delivery will benefit

Benjamin Franklin once spoke of the perils of sacrificing precious liberty for a little temporary security. His words have a powerful resonance following the saga of state surveillance exposed in recent weeks.

Intelligence agencies’ tools must be updated, not expanded

One man’s honest discussion is another’s backstreet mugging

Allowing ministers a greater say in appointing civil servants will not help to strengthen accountability, argues Dave Penman

Just follow the patented Department of Health HR manual

Search for ‘PFI’ online and you’ll soon conclude that it is desperately in need of a PR makeover. So it was unsurprising when, in November 2011, the chancellor announced a fundamental reassessment of PFI. The result of that exercise is PF2.

A promising model requires evidence and caution.

Let’s hope ministers don’t put it to their blind eye

Community budgets may be overtaken by their big brothers

Private offices should be boosted by letting secretaries of state recruit experienced policy and implementation advisers, says Akash Paun

Many civil servants work in the government analogue service

It’s not clear that the MoJ is ready for its next big challenge

There is a new dynamic in the relationship between select committees and government departments. The Wright reforms agreed in 2010 – including the election of committee chairs by the House, and of committee members by their parties – have changed the way committees work and what they expect of their departments, while the public profiles of committees have been raised.

Civil Service Learning is struggling to reverse a terrible trend.

The annual drama of the Budget is a dysfunctional relic and should be scrapped, says Julian McCrae. Ministers and civil servants have bigger – and more nourishing – fish to fry.