News

If the election produces a hung Parliament, civil servants will look to Scotland, which has seen both a coalition and a minority government. Ruth Keeling gets some tips from its permanent secretary, Sir John Elvidge

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

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

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

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 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.

Philippa Stroud is the director of the Centre for Social Justice, which plays a key role in shaping Conservative policy. Matt Ross learns about a strand of Tory thinking that stresses restoration rather than retribution

This week, a former mental health nurse explains why she left the profession just seven months after qualifying.

This week we meet a police officer who works to identify and recover the proceeds of crime.

Dominic Martin represents the UK at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, better known as the OECD. He tells Matthew O’Toole how Whitehall can get more out of the statistic-gathering organisation

The latest figures show that government bodies are making patchy progress towards their 2010-11 targets for sustainable operations. Ruth Keeling examines both what’s helping them improve, and what’s holding them back.

Having left the Sustainable Development Commission, veteran environment activist Jonathon Porritt can now speak freely on sustainability policy. Matthew O’Toole hears complaints that Whitehall has resisted change 

Without a coordinated approach to intervention in conflicts, both nations and departments can end up working at cross-purposes. Matt Ross meets Richard Teuten, who fosters over-arching UK strategies on armed struggles

In a week when the weather has disrupted travel and brought a surreal dimension to life, Edward Garnier still manages to be amazed by the latest abortive coup against the prime minister.

Former information commissioner Richard Thomas has a new job: overseeing the government’s systems of administrative justice. He talks to Matt Ross about the challenges, potential and importance of both roles

Paddy Ashdown, former Lib Dem leader and co-chair of the IPPR’s Commission on National Security, tells Matt Ross that we are ill-prepared for the challenges of a new era of globalised, decentralised power