Finance

Government will be in listening mode once new city region mayors are in place, says growth unit boss

Auditor general says he has support for plan from Whitehall permanent secretaries

Think tank argues chancellor’s bungled budget fundraiser makes case for better policymaking

National Audit Office says department’s attempts to address delays have compressed its Carrier Strike delivery schedule and “added risk with limited contingency”

Leigh Lewis says the time has come to consider more effective ways to set spending levels

Treasury and Cabinet Office vow to better align much-criticised SDPs with Brexit planning and Whitehall's ongoing £3.5bn efficiency review. But they reject calls to bring the public documents in line with the more detailed internal versions

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

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

IfG and CIPFA data reveals growing pressure on key public services, as the Treasury asks departments to crack on with pre-announced £3.5bn in efficiency savings by 2019/20

Education department comes in for criticism as audit office report flags increasing free school costs as old buildings fall into disrepair

Tax collection agency beats target by 400,000 users months ahead of self-imposed deadline

Departmental data release breaks down £583m spend on foreign outposts during 2015-16

Report claims Sir Jeremy Heywood secured extra £250m for health service with ultimatum

Westminster City Council approves proposals for Whitehall landmark despite heritage concerns

Former head of the civil service's review for Labour says Treasury must "up its game" on financial expertise; do more to support regional growth; and stop "second guessing" departments

Report on full impact of delays with Common Agricultural Policy funds distribution says UK taxpayers will be left with £642m in penalties 

Think tank deputy director Julian McCrae says dealing with impact of the ageing society will be a dominant domestic task for Whitehall over the next 15 years

The chief executive of the Crown Commercial Service has told the Public Accounts Committee that he would rather “take time to build a model that endures” than rush to increase the volume of services bought through and by his centralised procurement team

Comes after supplier Concentrix "consistently failed to achieve more than half of its performance targets" during first year of its tax credit checks contract

Scheme delivers strong value for money and has exceeded targets, Independent Commission for Aid Impact says, but officials could do more to help national governments improve the way cash is delivered

Comments from NHS England chief executive prompt former Treasury permanent secretary Nick Macpherson to warn of a "bottomless pit" on health service funding

Sir Nicholas Macpherson says his Treasury predecessor was "instrumental in pulling the country back from the brink in 1976"