News

Former cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell has defended the civil service following attacks from backbench MPs – including Tory MP Douglas Carswell and minister Greg Barker – and newspapers.

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is to redraft its social media guidelines, following an informal consultation event.

A new report raises concerns over the Treasury’s handling of the financial crisis, and sets out ways in which it should be equipping itself to face the eurozone crisis. Colin Marrs explains and tests its key recommendations.

The Ministry of Defence’s land and property management arm, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), is working on a plan to radically shrink its estate through land sales, its chief executive Andrew Manley has said in an interview with CSW. Manley is also close to tendering for a commercial partner for DIO, in a move that will bring in estates development and sales skills to help the ministry get the best possible price for its asse

Civil servants working with the Public Services Network (PSN) risk finding that they don’t hold data in the right format or location to share it via the network even once the right infrastructure is in pace, the Cabinet Office’s senior policy adviser on PSN has said.

The aircraft carrier replacement programme has been dogged by indecision, delays and rising costs – and now a U-turn looms. Becky Slack examines one of Britain’s biggest and most dysfunctional public procurements.

45 St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4HX

020 3544 0352

BBC2 On iPlayer until 16 April

Funding has been cut for efforts to broaden student intakes. What now?

The release of official statistics to ministers, special advisers and civil servants before their official publication is largely unnecessary and causes the public to mistrust the figures, Andrew Dilnot, the new head of the UK Statistics Authority, has told Civil Service World.

The Home Office must ensure that the UK Border Agency (UKBA) ditches its “bunker mentality” and starts to provide consistently accurate statistics to Parliament, the Commons Home Affairs Committee said in a report yesterday.

A star ratings system is to be added to the CloudStore that will enable those using its products and services to review their experiences for the benefit of others.

Computer hackers have threatened to repeatedly attack government websites, following cyber-attacks that caused the Home Office website to crash last weekend.

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.

L’autre pied

www.lautrepied.co.uk

5-7 Blandford St, London W1U 3DB