Economics

Unions round on the chancellor as Budget sticks to George Osborne's 2015 departmental cuts plans in spite of Brexit vote

Hammond avoids big tweaks to Whitehall budgets, but targets extra funding for social care and business rate relief

Treasury trails Hammond's first Budget, as OECD upgrades UK growth forecast

RSA says power in the UK remains "too centralised" – and urges central government to give more freedom to local authorities to tackle regional imbalances

Union calls for independent review of pay as it warns that maintaining a 1% cap on pay rises is “unsustainable”

Continuing pay cap would mean up to 20% drop in average civil service earnings by 2020, union analysis reveals

After decades of reviews aimed at driving down the civil service's running costs, Sir Michael Barber, former chief of Blair's delivery unit, is hailed by one Whitehall-watcher as "much less celebrity and much more focused on getting the job done"

Chancellor will not use improved growth forecasts to borrow more money, it is reported

Internal appointments come ahead of expansion of the public spending watchdog’s remit

PCS union points out that staffing costs make up a big chunk of departmental spending, and called on Philip Hammond to ditch George Osborne's extra cuts

House of Lords committee puts HMRC officials through their paces

Ex-Treasury perm sec challenges David Davis's claims about the civil service's readiness for Brexit, as his former colleague Lord O'Donnell warns of major task presented by Great Repeal Bill