News

Major projects in focus: As HMRC calls time on Aspire, the government’s largest IT contract, Matt Foster finds that the tax authority is opting for evolution over revolution – and trying to sharpen its own digital skills

Work and pensions committee report calls for simplified payment structure and better categorisation of participants

Opinion: The need to find new ways of delivering services while resources are tight is the real reason for the new localism push

Chancellor chairs first meeting of the public expenditure committee (PEX) — with DWP and DfID spending said to be under scrutiny

General secretaries of the PCS and FDA unions renew their call for a rethink on civil service pay after cabinet secretary tells CSW officials are "realistic" about the need to cut the deficit

Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock releases figures showing GDS exits since May represent 2% of its workforce – while Labour warns of "haemorrhaging" of digital talent

Home secretary says it is right that cabinet ministers are "not making comments" on Heathrow's third runway until final government decision

Civil servants not facing "doom and gloom" cabinet secretary tells CSW, as he hails "fantastic results” in spite of austerity

Sir Jeremy Heywood has been at the centre of power in Britain for longer than any prime minister. In a wide-ranging interview, Jess Bowie asks the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service about budget cuts, Whitehall pay, the Chilcot Inquiry – and whether he ever feels like throwing it all in

EVEL plans should be "piloted on statutory instruments"; pension freedoms could be putting savers at risk – the latest from the House of Commons select committees

Camila Batmanghelidjh tells MPs there has been an "enormous amount of leaking from government offices" over charity's financial management

MoJ will not seek single supplier for debt collection – and department confirms it will keep enforcement in-house

The government's lead non-executive says public services are now at a "critical juncture"

Business secretary tells MPs that axing Department for Business, Innovation and Skills would be a "step backwards". But he asks: "Do we need 80 locations?"

Investigatory Powers Tribunal says Wilson Doctrine has 'no legal effect'

Lord Bridges says digital agenda will be top of the list for the civil service's new HR chief – while Labour's Chi Onwurah tries to dig up figures on the scale of recent GDS exits

Interim chief inspector of probation Paul Wilson tells CSW he is optimistic about the 'Transforming Rehabilitation' scheme – but warns over “more for less” culture

BT explores the benefits of understanding the needs of the over-50s market

Richard Caborn spent a decade as a minister in the last Labour government. Here he shares his insights on working with officials – and explains why, on one occasion, the civil service went to the dogs...

Rupert McNeil appointed to new role taking charge of Whitehall's 3,000-strong HR profession

Justice secretary Michael Gove tells MPs that Just Solutions International – the commercial arm of the National Offender Management Service – will abandon deal to advise Saudi Arabia on running of prisons

BIS and the MoJ facing "huge" cuts in the Spending Review, sources tell the Daily Telegraph

How advances in medical technology and telecare are changing the face of healthcare in the UK

Whitehall is no stranger to government efficiency drives, but the success of a reform programme depends on the ministers