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
FCDO to step up aid scrutiny as minister admits UK 'not a development superpower'
08 Dec 2022 Finance
FCDO to step up aid scrutiny as minister admits UK 'not a development superpower'
Development minister also planning restructure which could include new second perm sec
Defra ‘working up business case’ for APHA cash boost
07 Dec 2022 Finance
Defra ‘working up business case’ for APHA cash boost
Perm sec Tamara Finkelstein tells MPs department will need to reprioritise some work to offset inflation
National Audit Office boss: ‘We’re not a remote working organisation’
06 Dec 2022 Finance
National Audit Office boss: ‘We’re not a remote working organisation’
Some organisations made "premature" decisions, "boxing themselves into a strategy that they might now be regretting", Gareth Davies says
Perm secs take flak for major-project spending transparency
02 Dec 2022 Finance
Perm secs take flak for major-project spending transparency
MPs complain of late, poor-quality and “missing in action” accounting-officer assessments
Will the Autumn Statement’s short-term focus sideline longer-term outcomes for public services?
01 Dec 2022 Finance
Will the Autumn Statement’s short-term focus sideline longer-term outcomes for public services?
Public services may well have passed their tipping point, and short-term firefighting is clearly not the way back
Civil service job cuts 'should fund better pay for top new recruits'
01 Dec 2022 Finance
Civil service job cuts 'should fund better pay for top new recruits'
Performance-related pay and “senior specialist” roles would help departments attract more outside talent, IfG says
DHSC rapped for sharing 'misleading' graph on nurses' wage rise
30 Nov 2022 Finance
DHSC rapped for sharing 'misleading' graph on nurses' wage rise
Tweet shared after nurses' strike announced remains up despite warning it could harm public confidence
NAO sounds alarm as funding shortfalls threaten departmental shared-services drive
30 Nov 2022 Finance
NAO sounds alarm as funding shortfalls threaten departmental shared-services drive
Cabinet Office “doesn’t know how much has been spent or what benefits to expect”, watchdog warns
Raab condemns public sector strikes and says pay hikes would 'undercut the poorest'
23 Nov 2022 Finance
Raab condemns public sector strikes and says pay hikes would 'undercut the poorest'
Striking is not the “right thing to do now”, Raab says as civil servants gear up for industrial action
Sunak 'should consider enabling OBR to probe departmental spending plans'
22 Nov 2022 Finance
Sunak 'should consider enabling OBR to probe departmental spending plans'
Think tank’s growth proposals urge PM to consider Vaccine Taskforce-inspired interventions for key goals
MPs 'fear Home Office has blank cheque' to use aid money for refugee services Exclusive
18 Nov 2022 Finance
MPs 'fear Home Office has blank cheque' to use aid money for refugee services
Department has obstructed enquiries about use of ODA to support refugees, MPs say
Autumn Statement: IFS flags renewed pressure on civil service jobs
18 Nov 2022 Finance
Autumn Statement: IFS flags renewed pressure on civil service jobs
Institute for Fiscal Studies warns that government will have to pick between low pay awards, job cuts or worse services
Autumn Statement: Hunt under fire for latest delay to social-care reform
18 Nov 2022 Finance
Autumn Statement: Hunt under fire for latest delay to social-care reform
Chancellor says move will pay for £4.7bn services boost; care-cap architect dubs it “inhumane”
Autumn Statement: Pay is elephant in room for ‘protected’ departmental budgets
18 Nov 2022 Finance
Autumn Statement: Pay is elephant in room for ‘protected’ departmental budgets
IFS warns civil service will face biggest pressures after 2024-25 under 1% growth plan
UKHSA pushes through pay offer unions rejected, offering £350 'recognition payment' Exclusive
18 Nov 2022 Finance
UKHSA pushes through pay offer unions rejected, offering £350 'recognition payment'
Pay decision ‘disappointing’ and could lead to workforce shortage, union warns
DWP and HMRC get cash boost for 6,000 new staff to tackle fraud, error and tax dodging
17 Nov 2022 Finance
DWP and HMRC get cash boost for 6,000 new staff to tackle fraud, error and tax dodging
Autumn Statement brings £300m for recruitment drive – but departments will be told to find savings elsewhere
Autumn Statement: Hunt ‘protects’ civil service budgets – but not from inflation
17 Nov 2022 Finance
Autumn Statement: Hunt ‘protects’ civil service budgets – but not from inflation
Savings review will “reprioritise spending” away from “lower value” work, while automation drive will be accelerated
HMRC’s new complaints-management system will be ‘ready in weeks’
11 Nov 2022 Finance
HMRC’s new complaints-management system will be ‘ready in weeks’
Delayed CHART project on course for January delivery, tax-collection agency says
NAO hikes pay to stem snowballing staff turnover
03 Nov 2022 Finance
NAO hikes pay to stem snowballing staff turnover
But watchdog admits it cannot compete with 8-10% rises being offered by “big four” accountancy firms
Civil service job-cuts target scrapped but 2% pay cap looms
01 Nov 2022 Finance
Civil service job-cuts target scrapped but 2% pay cap looms
Fast Stream recruitment to resume alongside U-turn on Johnson-era plans to axe 91,000 jobs
Civil servants warned Kwarteng about mini-budget fallout, MPs told
27 Oct 2022 Finance
Civil servants warned Kwarteng about mini-budget fallout, MPs told
Debt Management Office chief says Treasury was told disastrous £45bn tax-cuts plan would push up borrowing
Energy relief schemes put ‘very large’ amount of public money at risk, BEIS perm sec warns
26 Oct 2022 Finance
Energy relief schemes put ‘very large’ amount of public money at risk, BEIS perm sec warns
Sarah Munby raises concerns over fraud and value for money in requests for ministerial directions
Sunak warns of ‘difficult decisions’ in first words as PM
25 Oct 2022 Finance
Sunak warns of ‘difficult decisions’ in first words as PM
Downing Street speech acknowledges Truss and Kwarteng “mistakes” but insists 2019 general-election manifesto is a valid mandate
Unlike the farce at Westminster, public sector cuts are no joke
21 Oct 2022 Finance
Unlike the farce at Westminster, public sector cuts are no joke
Jeremy Hunt has been dealt a difficult hand. But with no PM, it's hard to see what authority the chancellor has to make these serious decisions