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
'My visual impairment has informed our pandemic recovery planning': the work of a deputy chief exec
02 Aug 2022 Finance
'My visual impairment has informed our pandemic recovery planning': the work of a deputy chief exec
A huge diversity of people and roles make up the modern civil service. Paul Arnold has helped to ensure data is safely used and stored for 24 years at what is now the Information Commissioner’s Office
Jet crash during take-off costs Ministry of Defence £82m
01 Aug 2022 Finance
Jet crash during take-off costs Ministry of Defence £82m
MoD investigation into incident to be published later this month
Bosses face £870k in fines over Carillion cover-up
29 Jul 2022 Finance
Bosses face £870k in fines over Carillion cover-up
FCA says “misleading” statements about contracting giant’s finances aggravated the impact of its 2018 collapse
Defra drops bid for higher pay rises, blaming 'escalating inflation' Exclusive
22 Jul 2022 Finance
Defra drops bid for higher pay rises, blaming 'escalating inflation'
Economic pressure has made it "extremely unlikely" Cabinet Office and Treasury will sign off on pay-flexibility case, remuneration committee says
Treasury spending chief sounds alarm on inflationary pressures facing departments
22 Jul 2022 Finance
Treasury spending chief sounds alarm on inflationary pressures facing departments
Cat Little says some parts of government are “struggling” to evidence the impact of spiralling prices
Pay constraint 'unjust, unwise, and unfair', says Environment Agency chief Exclusive
21 Jul 2022 Finance
Pay constraint 'unjust, unwise, and unfair', says Environment Agency chief
James Bevan says staff are "experiencing real hardship" as inflation bites, with some using foodbanks
What would each of the Tory leadership contenders do to the civil service?
15 Jul 2022 Finance
What would each of the Tory leadership contenders do to the civil service?
From headcount cuts to battling “the blob”, Civil Service World explores what the potential PMs have said and done
DCMS consultancy spending quadruples in two years
14 Jul 2022 Finance
DCMS consultancy spending quadruples in two years
Money spent on external advice increased fourfold overnight
Zahawi’s 'political' use of Treasury notepaper raises questions
11 Jul 2022 Finance
Zahawi’s 'political' use of Treasury notepaper raises questions
New chancellor called for Boris Johnson’s resignation on HMT headed notepaper
DWP overpaid £8.5bn in benefits last year, annual accounts reveal
11 Jul 2022 Finance
DWP overpaid £8.5bn in benefits last year, annual accounts reveal
National Audit Office dubs figure a “record level” and says it is £380m up on 2020-21
Why can't BEIS and the Treasury get on?
24 Jun 2022 Finance
Why can't BEIS and the Treasury get on?
At the heart of the government’s problems with the cost-of-living crisis is a rupture between the two departments charged with managing the economy. Is it just down to the personalities, or is there something deeper going on?
Treasury seeks second perm sec as Charles Roxburgh exit confirmed
20 Jun 2022 Finance
Treasury seeks second perm sec as Charles Roxburgh exit confirmed
Department offers up to £160,000 for successful candidate
Meet The Insolvency Service at Civil Service Live 2022 Partner Content
13 Jun 2022 Finance
Meet The Insolvency Service at Civil Service Live 2022
Visit the stand of government agency The Insolvency Service at Civil Service Live in Edinburgh and London and learn how the investigation and legal teams help deliver economic confidence in the UK
DHSC blasted for ‘track record’ of breaking public-spending rules
10 Jun 2022 Finance
DHSC blasted for ‘track record’ of breaking public-spending rules
MPs berate department over £9bn “lost” in PPE procurement and unauthorised severance payments to NHS staff
Public spending watchdog names eight ‘departments of concern’
26 May 2022 Finance
Public spending watchdog names eight ‘departments of concern’
PPE stockpile and backlog woes help DHSC top PAC chair's problem list
MPs lambast departments' 'unacceptable' widespread non-compliance with tax-dodge rules
25 May 2022 Finance
MPs lambast departments' 'unacceptable' widespread non-compliance with tax-dodge rules
Government bodies “should be best placed” to understand IR35 rules, but HMRC partly to blame for "rushed" and poor implementation
BEIS 'offered open goal to fraudsters’ with Covid loan schemes
19 May 2022 Finance
BEIS 'offered open goal to fraudsters’ with Covid loan schemes
Public Accounts Committee says the department officials failed to properly warn ministers of how severe potential fraud levels might be
Saving grace: NS&I chief Ian Ackerley on Covid turbulence, select committee grillings and green investment
18 May 2022 Finance
Saving grace: NS&I chief Ian Ackerley on Covid turbulence, select committee grillings and green investment
The chief executive of Britain’s venerable state-owned savings bank talks about its pandemic savings push, reputation management and transforming his organisation
Former EY partner hired as head of government risk profession
17 May 2022 Finance
Former EY partner hired as head of government risk profession
Clive Martin will spearhead work to produce an accredited learning and development offer for risk-focused officials
Ageing DWP IT 'stopped Sunak raising benefits to keep pace with inflation'
10 May 2022 Finance
Ageing DWP IT 'stopped Sunak raising benefits to keep pace with inflation'
Reports claim chancellor was advised that payments of legacy benefits could only be increased once a year
Former DCMS perm sec takes on UK Debt Management Office role
06 May 2022 Finance
Former DCMS perm sec takes on UK Debt Management Office role
Sue Owen’s appointment as non-exec chair of advisory board marks return to DMO after 16 years
‘We did what we could as quickly as we could’: Treasury perm sec rejects Covid fraud complacency claims
29 Apr 2022 Finance
‘We did what we could as quickly as we could’: Treasury perm sec rejects Covid fraud complacency claims
Tom Scholar told the Treasury Committee officials put together loan schemes under "exceptional circumstances"
While the chancellor deals in economic optimism, reality in the NHS is tough – and getting tougher
27 Apr 2022 Finance
While the chancellor deals in economic optimism, reality in the NHS is tough – and getting tougher
Sunak's plan to cut £4.75bn in “efficiency savings” from the NHS budget is a classic of the “heroic optimism untethered to reality” genre
A third of departments set to miss annual report deadline, Treasury says
26 Apr 2022 Finance
A third of departments set to miss annual report deadline, Treasury says
2021-22 reports will include statements on the impact of the pandemic on departmental goals plus a fraud-and-error analysis of Covid schemes