Welsh devolution has brought many benefits, says Hywel Francis. But it could bring more if its mechanics were better understood in Whitehall

Over the years, various public bodies have tried to roll back the tide of Whitehall regulation – with little success. The latest is the Regulatory Policy Committee: Ben Willis reports on an attempt to embarrass erring departments.

Access to public geographic data is increasing, but not as fast as some would like. Ruth Keeling reports on a CSW online debate that explored the potential of – and the obstacles to – better use of government statistics.

To accompany the Budget last week, all the departments laid out their contributions to the £11bn efficiency savings that the government says must be found. Ruth Keeling and Joe Wedgwood set out the detail.

It’s been a struggle to move civil servants out of London – and relocations have barely touched the central departments. As Stuart Watson discovers, the government now wants to disperse core Whitehall functions.

The shared services agenda seems to be picking up speed again, with a recent prime ministerial speech and increased political interest. But what challenges remain? Matthew O’Toole listens in at a round table discussion.

This week’s interviewee is an addiction manager, working for a local authority to provide help and support to adults with drug and alcohol problems

Elected to the Commons in 1966 and a veteran of eight ministerial jobs, Michael Heseltine brought down one prime minister and became the deputy of the next. The businessman politician talks to Matt Ross

Operational research may not be the best-known profession inside the civil service, but its head Tony O’Connor says that this cadre of analysts creates many benefits for policymaking. 

Amid the welter of anecdotes, advertisements and media reporting, what do civil servants actually think of major government technology suppliers? Matthew O’Toole details the results of an intriguing survey on IT in the civil service.

A G-cloud and a government applications store are the next big ideas in government IT, but cost savings will  depend on buy-in from the wider public sector in order to create economies of scale. Ruth Keeling reports

Jill Kirby, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, blames big government for huge waste, ineffective policy, weakening the private and voluntary sectors – and, ultimately, even the recession. Matt Ross meets her

Stephen Lovegrove, the former banker running the Shareholder Executive, must dispose of high-value government assets such as the Channel Tunnel rail link. He tells Matthew O’Toole it will take expertise, but also good timing

For Communities and Local Government permanent secretary Peter Housden, the challenges are combating the recession and developing localism. He tells Matt Ross that centralised targets and inspections are on the way out

Should civil servants use Twitter at work? Absolutely, online services minister Jim Knight tells Ruth Keeling. The government’s IT and its attitudes must both be brought up to date so that services can change with the times

Both major parties have pledged war on the proliferating numbers of public bodies; in the current economic climate, their future looks bleak. Matthew O’Toole reports from a sobering conference on the prospects for quangos

European Commission directives may be intended to create common results across Europe, but Ruth Keeling discovers that their transposition into national law varies widely – and there’s simply no data on enforcement.

Transport permanent secretary Robert Devereux has been a policymaker all his life – and now he leads the profession. He tells Matthew O’Toole that policymakers must listen to the frontline

Matthew Rycroft, who heads up EU policy at the foreign office, hopes to move the union on from a decade of institutional wrangling to tackle strategic issues. He tells Matthew O’Toole why it’s time to focus on the big picture

Sir Leigh Lewis, permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, is not a noisy or aggressive individual. Nonetheless, he tells Matt Ross, he’s at the forefront of a revolution underway in the civil service

The government has been moving in the right direction on welfare and benefits reform, shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May tells Matt Ross; it just hasn’t been doing so very cleverly, or very quickly

Richard Reeves is keen to stress that his think-tank, Demos, is no New Labour ‘poodle’, and has been striving to engage with the Tories. He tells Matthew O’Toole why it’s worth listening to – and why Whitehall might resist 

The Food and Environment Research Agency was launched with dreams of commercial development – into the teeth of the financial crisis. Chief executive Andrew Belton tells Ruth Keeling that he remains optimistic

A new report from influential think-tank the Institute for Government recommends a stronger, strategy-setting centre of government. Many see the logic, but wonder how it could be achieved. Matthew O’Toole reports.