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Dr Vanessa Lawrence (pictured) has stepped down as director-general of Ordnance Survey after 14 years in the role.

The Civil Service Commission won’t reform the appointment process for permanent secretaries without the backing of the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC), first civil service commissioner Sir David Normington has told CSW.

The civil service’s record on improving the ethnic diversity of the senior civil service is “disgraceful”, the outgoing permanent secretary diversity champion has said, and he deeply regrets the fact that this month’s deadline to put in place “a clear, strategic approach” to diversity across Whitehall will be missed.

The Labour Party has criticised the Department for Education (DfE) for employing “party ideologues” as senior officials.

The Cabinet Office is using its Contestable Policy Fund to commission research from outside government asking why women are not progressing to the top roles of the civil service.

Oliver Robbins, formerly the deputy national security adviser, has been appointed ‘director general for civil service’ in the Cabinet Office.

The government should send more civil servants to the European Commission (EC) as part of their regular career paths, chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said.

HMRC has opened a voluntary redundancy scheme in an effort to lose around 2,000 staff. Three quarters work in personal taxes and compliance, while a further 480 work in debt management and banking.

Prime minister David Cameron has called on civil servants to “talk truth to power and tell it like it is” in order to improve policy.

David Thomas (pictured), commerical director at HMRC and a crown representative, will leave government in mid-December. He resigned his post in September.

Cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood has intervened in a bid to end the political briefings against work and pensions permanent secretary Robert Devereux.

The annual Civil Service People Survey (CSPS) shows increased satisfaction with training opportunities this year, but another fall in scores associated with pay and benefits.