Budget 2025: Departments told to find extra £4.9bn in efficiencies
26 Nov Economics

Budget 2025: Departments told to find extra £4.9bn in efficiencies

New target follows near-£14bn efficiencies committed to for SR25 period
by Tevye Markson
Budget 2025: OBR launches probe after publishing key document early
26 Nov Economics
Budget 2025: OBR launches probe after publishing key document early
HMT second perm sec Sam Beckett to depart
14 Nov Economics
HMT second perm sec Sam Beckett to depart
Rachel Reeves says Autumn Budget will 'protect public services from return to austerity'
04 Nov Economics
Rachel Reeves says Autumn Budget will 'protect public services from return to austerity'
FDA’s Dave Penman says union “must do more” to recruit new members — but hits out at PCS “hostility”
12 May 2016 Economics
FDA’s Dave Penman says union “must do more” to recruit new members — but hits out at PCS “hostility”

General secretary of union for senior civil servants says staff cuts taking a toll on membership numbers — but defends move to extend reach with new Keystone initiative
Treasury making 'significant' contingency plans for Brexit, says George Osborne
11 May 2016 Economics
Treasury making "significant" contingency plans for Brexit, says George Osborne

Chancellor says Treasury civil servants planning for the impact of leaving the EU on financial stability in the UK – but Number 10 maintains no wider policy planning taking place
New public sector contract rules as David Cameron vows corruption crackdown
11 May 2016 Economics
New public sector contract rules as David Cameron vows corruption crackdown

Prime minister David Cameron to set out new process of "open contracting" at anti-corruption summit
Civil service redundancy shake-up could lead to 'significant' industrial unrest, warns Prospect union
09 May 2016 Economics
Civil service redundancy shake-up could lead to "significant" industrial unrest, warns Prospect union

Specialist union's formal response to Cabinet Office's planned shake-up of Civil Service Compensation Scheme warns of impact on workforce management – and raises prospect of industrial action
BIS delays new pubs code after 'technical drafting issues'
05 May 2016 Economics
BIS delays new pubs code after "technical drafting issues"

Business minister Anna Soubry says plan to reform relationship between tenants and big pubcos will not come into force next month as planned
PACAC's Bernard Jenkin says check-off u-turn was 'sale of government policy' – as fellow committee member brands him a bigot
28 Apr 2016 Economics
PACAC's Bernard Jenkin says check-off u-turn was "sale of government policy" – as fellow committee member brands him a bigot

Bernard Jenkin accuses government of "rotten" concessions to unions in exchange for EU campaigning – and is met with scorn by fellow PACAC member Paul Flynn
Martin Donnelly on BIS Sheffield closure: splitting policy across 14 sites is not helpful
28 Apr 2016 Economics
Martin Donnelly on BIS Sheffield closure: splitting policy across 14 sites is not helpful

BIS perm sec seeks to justify closure of Sheffield site, and says departmental cuts will mean reducing headcount by 30%-40% "over time"
Crown Commercial Service aims to make it easier for departments to take credit and debit card payments
25 Apr 2016 Economics
Crown Commercial Service aims to make it easier for departments to take credit and debit card payments

Online payments firm Stripe – which handles payments for Kickstarter – among those chosen in revamped approach to government merchant services
Departments get more Senior Civil Service pay freedom as review highlights 'major' anomalies
21 Apr 2016 Economics
Departments get more Senior Civil Service pay freedom as review highlights "major" anomalies

Government sets out response as Senior Salaries Review Body warns some managers earning less than their juniors – but FDA blasts "sticking plaster" approach
Lord Kerslake 'delighted' as government u-turns on union fee check-off
19 Apr 2016 Economics
Lord Kerslake "delighted" as government u-turns on union fee check-off

Cabinet Office minister Lord Bridges confirms government rethink on plans to end automatic payroll deduction of union fees from public servants
Treasury warns Brexit could hit public finances by £36bn a year – but eurosceptics blast 'shameful' use of government resources
18 Apr 2016 Economics
Treasury warns Brexit could hit public finances by £36bn a year – but eurosceptics blast "shameful" use of government resources

George Osborne says Brexit would cause UK to "lose tens of billions of pounds in money for our public services" – but eurosceptic MP Bernard Jenkin says chancellor “should be ashamed of himself” for ordering civil servants to draw up Treasury analysis
HMRC “has no clear strategy for dealing with tax fraud” – Public Accounts Committee
15 Apr 2016 Economics
HMRC “has no clear strategy for dealing with tax fraud” – Public Accounts Committee

MPs demand tax agency improves “woefully inadequate” prosecutions record and says it should publish more straightforward details on the effectiveness of its work. But HMRC says it has been "relentless and strategic" in pursuing those who fail to pay their "fair share"