Project Delivery

National Audit Office report says late-running programme was “overly ambitious” with an “unachievable” timescale

Study finds Whitehall is the world’s most effective civil service for generating policy, but falls down ranking in areas like financial management and digital services

Institute for Government says High Speed 1 rail link and Thames Tideway tunnel are among projects where government may have made the wrong investment decision

National Audit Office says department did not look carefully enough at other ways to fund new nuclear plant

Drive to boost digital public services needs renewed political leadership after the election, says think tank

PCS expresses concern that contracts forming part of the tax department’s controversial regional hub scheme were signed in the pre-election period

Advert for team of six with a £600,000 budget comes as former privacy adviser calls for a total review and reset of the government’s identity assurance services

William Ury, who has also helped end conflicts in Colombia, the Middle East and the Balkans, has met with officials

Ministerial direction was required by DfT perm sec to provide funds for project

MPs question need for tax collection agency’s shift to city centre bases amid digital services drive

Institute for Government report draws lessons from global take-up of Blair-era innovation

Outgoing civil service commissioners highlight concerns that pay restrictions are limiting the attractiveness of some posts, while slow recruitment processes stop departments hiring top candidates

Former Cabinet Office minister says his perception of the civil service went “downhill a lot” during the coalition government

MPs highlight that workforce planning in Whitehall only gives “high-level view” of staffing requirements

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

Implementing Theresa May’s flagship plan must become a Brexit priority, says report

MPs warn that contract with Capita-led consortium has "failed to transform" Defence Infrastructure Organisation, and continued uncertainty will exacerbate ongoing recruitment challenges at the body set up to manage £31bn defence estate 

Auditor general says he has support for plan from Whitehall permanent secretaries

Treasury Select Committee says it would be “imprudent” for decisions on the multi-billion pound overhaul to be taken before inquiry is complete

National Audit Office says department’s attempts to address delays have compressed its Carrier Strike delivery schedule and “added risk with limited contingency”

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

DCLG confirms it is also ditching the use of the phrase "turned around" to describe families who have been subject to interventions under the programme

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 Accounts Committee says accountability system for major electrification programme was too complex, and casts doubt on cost estimates even after £1.2bn increase