HS2 reset: Lovegrove report unpacks lessons for civil service
20 May Finance

HS2 reset: Lovegrove report unpacks lessons for civil service

Recommendations include more realistic salaries for officials working on major projects and a culture shift away from “automatically” appointing career civil servant as SRO
by Jim Dunton
Treasury dubs size of Northern Ireland’s public sector ‘a significant budgetary challenge’
03 Jun Finance
Treasury dubs size of Northern Ireland’s public sector ‘a significant budgetary challenge’
NS&I offers up to £220k for next chief executive
02 Jun Finance
NS&I offers up to £220k for next chief executive
MPs urge government to probe root causes of billions in ‘wasted’ public funds
27 May Finance
MPs urge government to probe root causes of billions in ‘wasted’ public funds
NAO refuses to sign off Whole of Government Accounts again
18 Jul 2025 Finance
NAO refuses to sign off Whole of Government Accounts again
Spending watchdog blames ongoing crisis in local-government audit for “inadequate assurance” over billions of pounds in unaudited data
Jeremy Hunt: I had to earn civil servants’ trust after Tom Scholar sacking
17 Jul 2025 Finance
Jeremy Hunt: I had to earn civil servants’ trust after Tom Scholar sacking
Jeremy Hunt also speaks about the advice he gave to Wes Streeting and why he's not a fan of "mission-driven" government
UK’s capacity to absorb economic shocks is shrinking, OBR chair warns
15 Jul 2025 Finance
UK’s capacity to absorb economic shocks is shrinking, OBR chair warns
Richard Hughes says there has been “a de facto willingness” on the part of successive governments to allow debt to continue growing
Treasury hikes threshold for when new salaries require senior minister's approval
15 Jul 2025 Finance
Treasury hikes threshold for when new salaries require senior minister's approval
Top-level pay controls guidance update also includes new exceptions
New business-case rules for major projects come into force
14 Jul 2025 Finance
New business-case rules for major projects come into force
Treasury issues guidance for departments on new requirements for projects and programmes in the GMPP
Treasury working with departments to build integrated finance system
24 Jun 2025 Finance
Treasury working with departments to build integrated finance system
Tech will give HMT and departments real-time shared understanding of their performance against budgets and objectives
SR25: HMRC gets £1.7bn for big increase in compliance and debt management staff
12 Jun 2025 Finance
SR25: HMRC gets £1.7bn for big increase in compliance and debt management staff
Department also gets £500m "to make HMRC a truly digital-first organisation"
‘Radically’ shorter Green Book will support place-based budgeting and transformational change
11 Jun 2025 Finance
‘Radically’ shorter Green Book will support place-based budgeting and transformational change
Treasury announces results of review into its guidance on appraising policies and projects
OBR chief in line for another five-year term
02 Jun 2025 Finance
OBR chief in line for another five-year term
Chancellor Rachel Reeves backs Richard Hughes to serve as watchdog chair until 2030
UK aid is ten times more scrutinised than other government spending
12 May 2025 Finance
UK aid is ten times more scrutinised than other government spending
While aid-spending agencies make up only 1.3% of UK government spending, they are the subject of 12.5% of all government evaluations
‘Lessons being learned’ over GPA spending-control failings, MPs told
01 May 2025 Finance
‘Lessons being learned’ over GPA spending-control failings, MPs told
Cabinet Office perm sec Cat Little says checks and balances failed to expand at same pace as rest of agency
Treasury seeks technical efficiencies of ‘at least 1% a year’ from departments
28 Apr 2025 Finance
Treasury seeks technical efficiencies of ‘at least 1% a year’ from departments
Perm sec tells MPs “stretching and realistic” Spending Review targets are being worked up with the Office for Value for Money