The people with the purse strings are on the same side as you – here's how to play the government spending game
24 Mar Finance

The people with the purse strings are on the same side as you – here's how to play the government spending game

If you’ve felt that the government spending game is stacked against you trying to do the thing that feels obviously right: it’s not just you
by Andrew Greenway and Kate Tarling
BEIS recovered just 1% of £1.1bn fraud in Covid support loans to small firms
24 Mar Finance
BEIS recovered just 1% of £1.1bn fraud in Covid support loans to small firms
Spring Budget defence and childcare boosts 'mean spending cuts elsewhere'
16 Mar Finance
Spring Budget defence and childcare boosts 'mean spending cuts elsewhere'
DLUHC’s local-audit backlog issues ‘could get worse’, watchdog warns
16 Mar Finance
DLUHC’s local-audit backlog issues ‘could get worse’, watchdog warns
Spring Budget: Government launches new savings tracker amid departmental spending squeeze
15 Mar Finance
Spring Budget: Government launches new savings tracker amid departmental spending squeeze
IFS warns defence and childcare boosts could mean “very tough time for other spending areas”
High Court rejects challenge to Civil Service Pension Scheme costs
15 Mar Finance
High Court rejects challenge to Civil Service Pension Scheme costs
Judge sides with ministers over failure to reduce member contributions because of botched reforms
Integrated Review ‘refresh’ finds extra £5bn for MoD
14 Mar Finance
Integrated Review ‘refresh’ finds extra £5bn for MoD
Sunak sets new ‘aspiration’ for UK to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence amid concerns over Russia and China
Hunt urged to 'think twice' about closing Office of Tax Simplification
14 Mar Finance
Hunt urged to 'think twice' about closing Office of Tax Simplification
MPs says closure is "unnecessary", pointing to OTS claim that it "achieves far more than it costs"
HS2 pause will just ramp up costs, warns Infrastructure Commission chair
13 Mar Finance
HS2 pause will just ramp up costs, warns Infrastructure Commission chair
John Armitt’s comments come as Department for Transport announces delivery of section of high-speed line will be pushed back by two years
Stalemate as DfE refuses to negotiate with teachers' unions unless strikes called off
09 Mar Finance
Stalemate as DfE refuses to negotiate with teachers' unions unless strikes called off
But perm sec Susan Acland-Hood said the department is willing to renegotiate this year's pay offer
Cabinet Office targets £1bn-a-year savings through new efficiency pilot
07 Mar Finance
Cabinet Office targets £1bn-a-year savings through new efficiency pilot
Department will trial project which aims to modernise, automate and digitise government processes
Ben Wallace: MoD 'needs real money not fantasy efficiency savings'
16 Feb Finance
Ben Wallace: MoD 'needs real money not fantasy efficiency savings'
Defence secretary says defence budget has been "effectively raided" over three decades
Levelling up 'begging bowl culture' comments not a civil service rebuke, West Midlands mayor says
14 Feb Finance
Levelling up 'begging bowl culture' comments not a civil service rebuke, West Midlands mayor says
Andy Street says civil servants he has worked with "have been committed to making people’s lives better"
Dossier reveals errors and gaps in government 'debit card' spend data
13 Feb Finance
Dossier reveals errors and gaps in government 'debit card' spend data
MoD figures so “riddled with anomalies” they could not be included in database of government procurement card spend, Labour says
Treasury tightens reins on DLUHC spending decisions
10 Feb Finance
Treasury tightens reins on DLUHC spending decisions
Minister says new regime is a “delegation approach” that gives HMT sign-off on capital spend
'Stark' drop in real-terms civil service pay at all grades since 2010, analysis reveals
31 Jan Finance
'Stark' drop in real-terms civil service pay at all grades since 2010, analysis reveals
Value of senior civil servants' wages down by nearly a quarter but pay squeeze is not achieving expected savings, IfG warns
DIT urged to boost knowledge of UK’s regional strengths
31 Jan Finance
DIT urged to boost knowledge of UK’s regional strengths
Department must work with BEIS and DLUHC to better drive inward investment, NAO says
HMRC boss: Cabinet Office could demand information on would-be ministers’ tax affairs
26 Jan Finance
HMRC boss: Cabinet Office could demand information on would-be ministers’ tax affairs
As Zahawi row rumbles on, Jim Harra tells MPs of "frustration" over misleading briefings that department cannot challenge
DLUHC takes flak over Levelling Up Fund after councils 'wasted time and money' on bids
25 Jan Finance
DLUHC takes flak over Levelling Up Fund after councils 'wasted time and money' on bids
MPs tell top civil servants that lack of clarity over bidding criteria wasted local authorities’ cash
Treasury launches hunt for next chief economic adviser
23 Jan Finance
Treasury launches hunt for next chief economic adviser
Department offers up to £125k a year for Clare Lombardelli’s successor
DLUHC perm sec faces further grilling on levelling up funding decisions
19 Jan Finance
DLUHC perm sec faces further grilling on levelling up funding decisions
Watchdog MPs “disappointed” with Jeremy Pocklington’s stance as £2.1bn in new cash allocations creates fresh controversy
Treasury’s top economic adviser to leave for OECD
13 Jan Finance
Treasury’s top economic adviser to leave for OECD
Clare Lombardelli will become OECD chief economist in spring, after 18 years in the civil service
HMRC not deploying enough staff to tackle £42bn tax gap, MPs say
12 Jan Finance
HMRC not deploying enough staff to tackle £42bn tax gap, MPs say
"Eye-watering" sum owed in unpaid taxes could have helped fill "public spending black hole", PAC says
Northern Ireland civil servants could join strikes over 'offensive' sub-2% pay offer
09 Jan Finance
Northern Ireland civil servants could join strikes over 'offensive' sub-2% pay offer
Union urges members to reject "derisory" offer of £552 pay rise and vote on industrial action
'Some of the Treasury's hardest decisions are yet to come': Cat Little looks ahead
04 Jan Finance
'Some of the Treasury's hardest decisions are yet to come': Cat Little looks ahead
The Treasury second perm sec says resilience is needed after "what feels like concurrent crises over an extended period"
Keeping pace with interest rate changes and saying goodbye: NS&I’s Ian Ackerley on 2023’s challenges
29 Dec 2022 Finance
Keeping pace with interest rate changes and saying goodbye: NS&I’s Ian Ackerley on 2023’s challenges
National Savings & Investments chief discusses a new savings landscape, five years in charge and his beef with summertime Christmases
‘I have to make sure the ship is not blown off course': Alex Chisholm's cross-government efficiency drive – and the teenage job that crushed his festive spirit
14 Dec 2022 Finance
‘I have to make sure the ship is not blown off course': Alex Chisholm's cross-government efficiency drive – and the teenage job that crushed his festive spirit
Striking the right balance between proactive and reactive priorities will be a challenge in 2023, the Cabinet Office perm sec and civil service COO predicts
Treasury perm sec James Bowler: Tom Scholar's departure ‘was not normal’
13 Dec 2022 Finance
Treasury perm sec James Bowler: Tom Scholar's departure ‘was not normal’
Top Treasury officials also say they "gave all the advice they should have done" ahead of disastrous mini-budget