News

Data analysis must no longer be seen as role for policy professionals, says top civil servant, but as the "life blood of operational decision making"

Civil service disability champion Philip Rutnam says a new best practice guide will help drive up the standards of workplace adjustments across government

Government's spending watchdog warns that increases in health spending and pressures of an ageing population mean more budget cuts or tax rises will be needed to balance public finances

Minister Ben Gummer says his department is working with the Civil Service Commission to unwind coalition-era reforms – but questions remain over fate of staff already brought into government

"No deal for Britain is better than a bad deal for Britain," says prime minister in major Chatham House address

Joshua Chambers has travelled the world meeting government innovators. Here, he shares some of their secrets.

Number of deputy directors also set to fall from 116 to 80, according to the HSJ

Comes after supplier Concentrix "consistently failed to achieve more than half of its performance targets" during first year of its tax credit checks contract

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues at Dods People

Having cut the calendar of major fiscal events from two a year to just one, chancellor Philip Hammond must now use his extra time and energy to add some grit to the tax policymaking process

More pre-Budget consultation, the creation of a new Cabinet committee, and a tougher stance from Treasury perm secs feature on think tanks' wish list

Parliament must be given a say on "hugely complex task", says the Exiting the European Union Committee

Treasury Committee, chaired by Andrew Tyrie (pictured), questions tax authority's plans to make businesses keep digital records and produce quarterly updates

Labour calls for opening up of “narrow, closed circle” at the top of Whitehall by including new Department for International Trade chief

Civil Service World's regular guide to the very best in Whitehallese

Public Accounts Committee warns councils and refugees are confused by responsibilities and entitlements

The "guided distribution" constraints put upon HMRC officials can worsen the financial hardship of tax credit claimants, argues Bangor University's Sara Closs-Davies

ACOBA approves return to Suffolk County Council for review of councillor remuneration

Civil service chief people officer Rupert McNeil says leadership academy, launching later this year, will ask leaders to learn from successes and failures "of their peers and predecessors"

Scheme delivers strong value for money and has exceeded targets, Independent Commission for Aid Impact says, but officials could do more to help national governments improve the way cash is delivered

Comments from NHS England chief executive prompt former Treasury permanent secretary Nick Macpherson to warn of a "bottomless pit" on health service funding

Rupert McNeil tells Institute for Government event that Maude-era guided distribution system was "necessary", but warns against "too much artificiality" ahead of April's major staff appraisal changes

Special report: In just two years, the Surge and Rapid Response Team has gone from an idea for coping with Whitehall’s spending squeeze to a workforce of more than 300 apprentices ready to be deployed across departments – and cut the civil service's reliance on agency staff. Matt Foster meets the team behind it

 As Whitehall comes under attack, Downing Street needs to lead from the front, argues Sue Cameron