Government Tax Profession

New digital hire will head up plan to help departments share common digital platforms and oversee budget "in excess" of £15m a year

Social enterprise takes over reins of public sector development programme as government ends centrally-funded support

MPs demand tax agency improves “woefully inadequate” prosecutions record and says it should publish more straightforward details on the effectiveness of its work. But HMRC says it has been "relentless and strategic" in pursuing those who fail to pay their "fair share"

Criminal Justice Joint Inspection report highlights "significant progress" needed on digital overhaul of the justice system – with continued manual entry and lack of join-up

MPs give qualified backing to Peter Riddell as new watchdog overseeing top public sector appointment – but say they will keep an eye on danger of "politicisation" in the wake of planned shake-up of the role

Civil service union PCS argues latest proposals do not take account of Land Registry's digital progress and could lead to a reduced capacity for statutory work

Union analysis of Cabinet Office data on more than 280,000 officials highlights "statistically significant" differences in how different groups are treated

Macpherson says IDS's resignation over Personal Independence Payments was an "interesting, postmodern" decision

National Audit Office (NAO) report finds that each loan given out under the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Green Deal cost government £17,000, and flags poor use of evidence and testing when the scheme was designed 

Alliance for Useful Evidence project says incentives will be needed to ensure policy takes account of evidence

Plans to change the way key public sector jobs are filled have drawn criticism from the former public appointments watchdog Sir David Normington, who is concerned they hand too much power to ministers. So what are the key concerns and how has the government responded?

PACAC chair Bernard Jenkin makes the case for greater parliamentary role in choosing appointments watchdogs, as Sir Gerry Grimstone rejects claims that his review gives ministers too much power over top jobs

Mystery Shopper report highlights challenges of encouraging suppliers to form partnerships to bid for government contracts

GDS executive director says central government digital team must ensure Whitehall "embraces the change, rather than trying to avoid it"

Internal Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) document shows scale of staff reductions being considered under BIS 2020 plans

Troup faces media scrutiny over role at Simmons & Simmons – as HMRC points out his role "has never involved responsibility for operational activities or direct dealings with companies on their tax affairs"

HMRC asks for access to the Panama Papers offshore leaks and vows to "relentlessly pursue" wrongdoing – but tax expert Richard Murphy says department "just hasn’t got the resources"

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

International Development permanent secretary Mark Lowcock tells CSW that asking other departments to take on aid commitments won't undermine DfID's mission — and says some of his staff have been poached for their expertise

Malcolm McKibbin tells staff 17-month embargo on new hires is over, after around 3,000 staff quit service via Voluntary Exit Scheme

Statistics show the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s consular service took around half a million calls over the past 12 months, some of them far from genuine emergencies

John Manthorpe accuses government of wanting to "sell the Land Registry for a quick price to reduce the deficit"

Department for International Development permanent secretary tells CSW about efforts to provide a "rigorous analytical framework" for measuring international civil service performance

Director general Mary Calam to leave civil service after more than two decades, with Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism's Paul Lincoln taking on the job