Economics

National Audit Office report on Crown Commercial Service blames failure to achieve forecast procurement savings on “overambitious targets, poor planning, inadequate data and lack of buy in”

 

But think tank warns that ministers could jeopardise its success by scaling back resourcing or attempting to widen its scope too much

HMRC’s Jon Thompson and MoD’s Stephen Lovegrove shed light on what the end of guided distribution will mean for staff, as Prospect union and the Public Service People Managers' Association give their take on getting performance management right

Prime minister suggests civil servants are reluctant to speak their own minds to her and blames Whitehall for creating the acronym “JAMs”

HMRC job ad says London Office will be moving to Canary Wharf as a "transitional site in summer 2017"

Agency “has no contingency plan” for lower-than-predicted uptake of digital tax plans, Public Accounts Committee warns

New recruit be responsible for managing a £50m annual IT budget

Former chief executive of the Office of Rail and Road has also been Defra and Home Office chief economist

James Stewart becomes the latest senior departure from the Government Digital Service, as he makes the case for IT spend controls

Spending Review 2015 plans "will remain in place", says the new chancellor – but departments will be able to reinvest some of their 2019/20 savings

Land Registry "will remain in the public sector", Autumn Statement confirms, as PCS hails campaign victory

"Brexit will be a true test of whether SDPs are fit for purpose", says the Public Accounts Committee

Former top officials warn against centralisation of power with the finance ministry on eve of chancellor Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement

Government efficiency targets have only made the financial position of NHS bodies worse, warns the National Audit Office

This year's People Survey provides a snapshot of morale at Whitehall's newest organisations: the Department for Exiting the European Union, the Department for International Trade, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Matt Foster crunches the numbers

HMRC says Concentrix staff moving in-house are being given fresh training, as it confirms earlier-than-planned end to controversial fraud and error deal

Union research shows Grade 6 staff have seen a 16% pay cut in take-home pay since 2011, amid warnings that rises at lower grades will fail to keep pace with the National Living Wage

Public Accounts Committee says Concentrix debacle highlights potential for error as Universal Credit rollout continues

Public Accounts Committee welcomes sharper monitoring of programme to free up land for housebuilding – but says "slow start" by some departments may make it hard to hit 2020 target

Amid debate over the future of the revolving door watchdog Acoba, Cabinet Office's Chris Skidmore warns against undermining "modern, dynamic" moves between public and private sector

HMRC chief says he will have "something to announce within the next few working days" about end of contract with US outsourcing firm, and says company "simply didn’t put enough people" on tax credit inquiry lines

UKEF chief Louis Taylor tells CSW he has struck deal with Treasury to end "very inefficient use of money" through contractors

National Audit Office finds “no evidence" chief social worker influenced decision to award contracts to consultancy she used to hold shares in — but raises concern over the way the department sought to manage conflicts of interest

First central government department to offer payroll credit union savings scheme reveals take-up