Policy

Manzoni and Gummer convene refreshed advisory panel as government reiterates commitment to channel 33% of procurement spend through SMEs

 House of Lords Constitution Committee session told that wealth of academic data is often ignored

"We’re forever doing accountability ex-post," says the former cabinet secretary, as MPs kick off their new inquiry into the future of the civil service

Independence fears prompt U-turn as Children and Social Work Bill enters report stage in House of Lords

Exclusive: David Cameron’s policy guru and former Cabinet Office minister warns agains "jargon-ridden, non-sensical, useless, distracting management speak" and argues for better treatment of civil servants to compensate for pay restraints

"We do not require wider education legislation in this session to make progress on our ambitious education agenda," says education secretary

Public Accounts Committee urges Cabinet Office to boost departments’ oversight of quangos – and share accountability good practice more widely

National Institute of Economic and Social Research study, commissioned by the government, finds “no significant or systematic impact” of the programme, as the Department for Communities and Local Government says it has learned lessons from its first phase

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson’s first select committee grilling provides laughs and helpful sketches of flags, but little policy insight

Think-tank raises eyebrow at PM’s capacity to turn her Conservative Party Conference pledges into reality against backdrop of further belt-tightening and Brexit uncertainty

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Institute for Government, and the Chartered Institute of Taxation say the UK's tax system suffers from "too little sense of direction, consultation or evaluation"

Ed Balls, Jacqui Smith and Jack Straw are among the latest former ministers to lift the lid on their dealings with the civil service. Suzannah Brecknell reports