Policy

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

Report by former Court of Appeal judge Sir Stephen Sedley warns that departments are not keeping track of policy research – and says public debate risks being undermined by suppression of findings

The former Energy and Climate Change chief scientist, who died earlier this year, taught his department how to do policymaking without the hot air – by making the process data-led, iterative and open

Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin tells CSW it "should not be necessary to badger ministers and officials into doing the right thing", after Leave campaigners pushed to ensure pro-EU websites were not promoted in the final run-up to the referendum

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

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

Late principal private secretary to prime minister David Cameron honoured in naming of this year's Policy Award

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

Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union announces one-day strike action of policy officials set to be affected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' plan to close its office in Sheffield

Chancellor says Treasury civil servants planning for the impact of leaving the EU on financial stability in the UK – but Number 10 maintains no wider policy planning taking place

Politicians are fond of bandying around statistics to boost their arguments – but how much of what they say is informed by facts? Suzannah Brecknell meets Full Fact director Will Moy who explains his mission to rid public debate of “nonsense”

Resolution Foundation report says welfare shake-up has "genuine potential" but could be less effective because of cost-cutting

Committee of MPs says department has “not made a diligent and credible case” for policy which aims to fund discounts for housing association properties by selling off council homes

Bernard Jenkin accuses government of "rotten" concessions to unions in exchange for EU campaigning – and is met with scorn by fellow PACAC member Paul Flynn

BIS perm sec seeks to justify closure of Sheffield site, and says departmental cuts will mean reducing headcount by 30%-40% "over time"

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Louise Haigh says use of WhatsApp should either be "banned completely or brought under the FoI legislation"

Best performing councils could be allowed to run their own academy chains, in a bid to mollify Tory MPs concerned about full academisation

Two new data and statistics centres to be created at the Office for National Statistics HQ in Newport, while an “increased London presence” is planned to improve its the organisations relationship with users

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 

Government Outcomes Lab being set up in partnership with Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government​ in a bid to assess the impact of outcome-based commissioning ​schemes

Largest civil service union to ballot members on closure of Department for Business, Innovation and Skills St Paul's Place site – as permanent secretary Martin Donnelly tells MPs the decision will "make policy work more cost-effectively"

Government's preferred candidate to succeed Sir David Normington as Commissioner for Public Appointments says revamped process for filling top public jobs will not result in ministers "just being able to get who they want"

Prime minister attempts to get back on the political front foot after departure of long-serving work and pensions secretary highlights gap between Treasury and the DWP