News

Subtlety is a rare but valuable characteristic. A little nuance never does any harm, while a gung-ho machismo can get you in all sorts of trouble.

The civil service has to develop specialist policymaking skills, says Lord Darzi – and that requires topical professional qualifications

A doctor says the NHS’s priorities are all wrong: pettifogging rules are rigorously enforced, but the Working Time Directive is pretty much ignored

Leading Tory thinker Nick Boles has challenged the government’s immigration cap, arguing that the policy threatens the ability of Britain’s universities to contribute to economic growth.

Voluntary sector bodies are warning that Cabinet Office plans to dramatically broaden access to public data may end up putting charities and social enterprises at a disadvantage in the competition for service delivery contracts, as private companies plead commercial confidentiality to evade new transparency rules.

Una O’Brien, permanent secretary at the Department of Health, is to be the next chair of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund.

The government moved a step closer to its new single website last week, when gov.uk was launched: a ‘beta’ test version of the replacement for the directgov and businesslink sites, the site contains information on 667 common requests or services such as bank holiday dates or maternity leave entitlement.

Whitehall should better coordinate policy across health, social housing and social care services, while local commissioning bodies should integrate social care with healthcare commissioning, according to a report published today by the Commons health committee.

After 37 years on Whitehall Stephen Laws, the government’s top drafter of legislation, is retiring. Suzannah Brecknell grabs him on his way out of the door to discuss a life spent writing laws for seven prime ministers

Nick Boles is a key Tory thinker: a man who devised many flagship policies and prepared his party for government. But Matt Ross finds him refreshingly straight-talking as he discusses politics, policymaking and the civil service.

Richard Douglas, the head of the Government Finance Profession, believes that finance skills will soon be essential for career progression across the senior civil service. He explains why to Joshua Chambers.

The government is on course to make around £5bn in savings in the year ending in March, Francis Maude has said. If the figure is achieved, it will bring the total saved since the election to £8.75bn.

Selected by Simon Schama

Whitechapel Gallery

Until 26 February

Frontline: Forensic medical examiner A doctor working with the police worries about the effect of outsourcing on the care of vulnerable people

Officials must fulfil their duty to challenge poor policies

To really transform public services, leaders must be braver, argues Alasdair Ramage.

Leigh Lewis writes on the life of Lesley Strathie, who died earlier this month

The new leadership arrangements at the top of the civil service should be reviewed within six months, the Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) has said.

The recent gains in the diversity of the civil service may slip back this year, former senior civil servant and London mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita has warned.

The cost of government’s “bonfire of the quangos” will be nearly twice the amount estimated by departments, according to a report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) last week.

The NHS reforms set out in the government’s Health and Social Care Bill are “disrupting and distracting” the effort to make £20bn of savings over the next four years, according to a critical report published yesterday by the Commons Health Committee.

Leading figures in local government argued that there’s no evidence of the economic need for reform of the planning system at the Local Government Summit last week.

750ml, £38.80 and £65

www.ardbeg.com