Finance

Government should be trialling use of distributed ledger technologies to improve welfare payments, according to a report published today

Tax authority's chief executive Dame Lin Homer is grilled on plans to cut HMRC's office network from 170 smaller offices to 13 regional centres

New report by the National Audit Office spending watchdog finds that while departmental spending on consultants and temporary staff has plummeted over last five years, latest figures indicate a “short-term reduction rather than a sustainable strategy”

Treasury says "one-off" factors to blame for higher-than-forecast public borrowing

Deal confirms Spending Review's projected average cut of 6.7% for councils as they move towards full localised funding

National Audit Office finds trust deficits becoming “normal practice” 

In the latest Ministry of Justice U-turn, the justice secretary reverses another of his predecessor Chris Grayling's policies

Amid reports chancellor looking to cut voluntary civil service redundancy payouts by a further six months – a move first floated in 2010 – unions warn of "war by the government against its own staff"

Former head of the civil service drafts in TUC chief Frances O'Grady and ex-KPMG deputy Alan Buckle to assess whether the Treasury is "fit for purpose"

Institute for Fiscal Studies says talk of "end to austerity" is premature

Ministers reportedly seeking vote on the self-imposed welfare cap after tax credits rethink

Healthcare Financial Management Association urges the government to go beyond £8bn pledge – and sounds the alarm on NHS deficits