Finance

Chief secretary to the Treasury Greg Hands says his department’s five-strand programme – designed to put finance at the heart of government decision-making – is on course and delivering results

FDA general secretary Dave Penman says HMRC staff should not be blamed for internet giant Google’s controversial tax deal

Overall borrowing this year now at £74.2bn,  past the OBR's projection of £68.9bn

MoJ's top official says falling out with prisons inspector was the result of spending controls introduced "in some haste" to tackle department's overspend

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

Sale price £280m more than the “book value”, George Osborne announces

Stinging report by the Public Accounts Committee says government funding to the collapsed charity was “never seriously questioned, let alone stopped”

Combined central and local government outsourcing spend highest since early 2012, according to new research

Public Accounts Committee criticises HMRC over customer service, compliance and tackling aggressive tax planning – while HMRC says MPs have "overlooked" its achievements

Report by the National Audit Office spending watchdog finds that charity received £46m of public funding over 15 years

Official who raised value for money concerns over further funding for the charity to face questions from the Public Accounts Committee

Business secretary tells MPs that axing Department for Business, Innovation and Skills would be a "step backwards". But he asks: "Do we need 80 locations?"

Institute for Fiscal Studies gives its assessment ahead of the Spending Review – and warns easier efficiency savings have already been "identified and delivered"