Operational Delivery

Public Accounts Committee report on outsourced tax credits debacle says agency lacked the commercial capacity for the payment-by-results deal

Changes to be judged on how funding can promote sustainability of services and reduce worklessness

Rise in spending through aid outsourcing has turned DfID into a commissioning department, say MPs

Think tank says data dashboards have the potential to mislead and urges government to boost staff’s data science skills

Watchdog warns demands of service pressures, major projects and Brexit are outpacing Whitehall’s capacity to deliver at a time of staffing restrictions and spending restraint

Public Accounts Committee says economic case is “crystal clear” for both houses to relocate for the duration of a £3.9bn overhaul

Unions round on the chancellor as Budget sticks to George Osborne's 2015 departmental cuts plans in spite of Brexit vote

One-year to the introduction of quarterly reporting announced after concern MPs on the Treasury committee

After decades of reviews aimed at driving down the civil service's running costs, Sir Michael Barber, former chief of Blair's delivery unit, is hailed by one Whitehall-watcher as "much less celebrity and much more focused on getting the job done"

Public Chairs Forum, Association of Chief Executives and the Institute for Government will track progress on the Cabinet Office's bid to improve relationships between departments and ALBs

Civil service chief John Manzoni says good relationships between departments and their agencies are built on "trust, clarity of accountability" and a "shared understanding of purpose and outcomes"

Select committee seeks feedback on payment delays, registration errors, and possible tweaks