Operational Delivery

National Audit Office review of government’s bid to cut regulation cost highlights need for better understanding of social impact, and more evaluation of regulatory decisions once implemented

National Probation Service director Colin Allars named as successor to Lin Hinnigan at troubled young offenders' organisation

Public and Commercial Services union says it will "continue the pressure on BIS" over decision to axe Sheffield office, as staff kick off latest round of industrial action

Resignation announcement comes ahead of the publication of the Taylor Review of the Youth Justice System

Exclusive CSW/Dods Research poll finds Tory MPs are much more confident than Labour and the SNP that Whitehall has resouces to deal with ramifications of a vote to leave the European Union

MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs (PACAC) committee are told that the century-old Haldane convention has been undermined by decades-long shift towards managerialism in the civil service

Whitehall commentators and insiders at odds over expertise and timescales for “conscious uncoupling” with Europe

New chief executive and permanent secretary tells MPs that technology issues and new performance management regime are at the root of organisation’s problems

Home Affairs Select Committee report contrasts staffing cuts with a 29% spike in asylum applications

Public Accounts Committee says system is “bedevilled by long standing poor performance” and urges the Ministry of Justice to do more to understand likely impact of cutting resources

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills perm sec Martin Donnelly vows to ensure staff are "fully supported" as he confirms plan to shut Sheffield policy site by January 2018. CSW has full details and reaction from the PCS and FDA unions, Labour, and frontline staff

Labour leader backs long-running aim of the Public and Commercial Services union, that would see an end to departmental chiefs setting their own pay for staff

New report by the UK’s aid watchdog says Department for International Development’s claims on improving access to water and sanitation are credible — but warns department’s focus may be too short-term

Competition and Markets Authority says privatised Land Registry could “degrade the terms of access to its monopoly data in order to weaken competition to its own commercial products”

Online verification service passes service assessment, as Janet Hughes vows to listen and learn as scheme is introduced across departments

Exclusive: As BIS Sheffield staff go on strike over the department's plan to move policy jobs to London, shadow cabinet office minister Louise Haigh denies that MPs are ignoring the need for departmental reform – and urges better local consultation. Photo credit: Amerjit Basi​

Experts question the ability of Queen’s Speech centrepiece to deal with system's core problems

Independent Commission for Aid Impact says DfID has offered "global policy leadership" in fight against issues including female genital mutilation and child marriage

Treasury's second permanent secretary to set up new organisation bringing together research councils, in bid to support growth and cross-disciplinary research

Ahead of the State Opening of Parliament, think tank says slim Commons majority and tough Spending Review settlements mean government would be wise to focus on key priorities 

Cabinet Office’s Iain Patterson cautions against changing departmental tech for the sake of it, as he sheds more light on ‘Ocean Liner’ review of big government IT contracts

Government Digital Service chief Stephen Foreshew-Cain tells CSW that officials with digital, data and technology skills could sit outside of the civil service grading system in a bid to attract and retain staff

MPs says Rural Payments Agency "must communicate clearly with its customers and ensure that it is appropriately resourced" to avoid repeat of the delays faced by farmers waiting on Common Agricultural Payments