News

The Treasury needs to improve its contingency planning, broaden the capability of its staff, and encourage officials to challenge policy orthodoxies if it is to better handle future financial crises, a report has stated.

The Canal & River Trust, the new name for British Waterways, has received charitable status from the Charity Commission.

Sir Bob Kerslake, the head of the civil service, has established a blog and an account on the social networking site Twitter, so that he can better engage with civil servants across the UK and the globe.

The government must provide a thorough response to last month’s final report from the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel, its chair Darra Singh has told CSW.

Big Society Capital, the government’s social investment ‘bank’, is now accepting loan bids. The £600m institution aims to make it easier for charities, social enterprises and community groups to access finance.

The Cabinet Office is to run a central academy to train civil servants and local government employees in commissioning and procurement, the department has told CSW.

Andy Nelson is a busy man. The Ministry of Justice’s chief information officer, he’s also now replaced Joe Harley as the government’s overall head of IT. Becky Slack meets him to learn about his plans for two rather hefty jobs

The last chair of the UK Statistics Authority was a fierce defender of the impartial and objective use of statistics. His replacement, Andrew Dilnot, tells Joshua Chambers how he intends to operate in this sensitive and important role.

DCMS permanent secretary Jonathan Stephens runs a small department with the job of helping people have fun. But Matt Ross learns that, these days, DCMS is focused on the serious business of earning money for UK plc

Ten councils have signed up to a new payment-by-results scheme that rewards councils for helping ‘troubled families’ by sharing with them the savings created as the demands on social services, criminal justice and other services decline.

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An inner-city school struggles to juggle the demands of disadvantaged pupils and national attainment targets

Public sector trading funds are to be paid to release more of their data to the public for free as part of the government’s ‘open data’ initiative, it was announced last week.

The head of Civil Service Learning (CSL), Jerry Arnott, has told CSW that he’s relying on departments’ procurement and finance professionals to ensure that all training purchases pass through CSL’s ‘Gateway’ – a key element of the reforms to civil service training set to come into force on 1 April.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact has raised concerns about the financial management of DfID’s aid projects in Afghanistan, which are worth up to £178m in 2011-12.

The final National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – which was published yesterday – incorporates a set of major improvements on the draft version, the Communities and Local Government Committee chair Clive Betts has said.

A Public Administration Select Committee report into the role of the independent adviser on ministers’ interests has concluded that the role is not “independent in any meaningful sense”. 

Despite a change of approach in Whitehall, civil servants in Northern Ireland will continue to pursue ‘spend to save’, Dr Malcolm McKibbin, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), has told CSW.

Communities and Local Government Committee chair Clive Betts has known Bob Kerslake for years, and doesn’t doubt his commitment to localism – but some departments are less enthusiastic, he tells Joshua Chambers

As head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Dr Malcolm McKibbin has a very challenging job. However, as he tells Joshua Chambers, the main challenge has evolved from ending the Troubles to stimulating business growth

A care manager says cuts can drive useful change – but uncertainty prevents it

The civil service has been a front runner in treating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB & T) workers fairly. Same sex adoption and parenting leave is available, same sex partners are recognised in pensions, and there are LGB & T staff networks.