News

After nearly 22 months, the Commons select committees’ first elected chairs have had plenty of time to size up their Whitehall counterparts. Joshua Chambers asked them how the departments they watch have been performing

An online platform through which public sector organisations can purchase software was launched on Sunday.

First civil service commissioner Sir David Normington has called for the Treasury’s scoping review of tax arrangements across the senior civil service to be extended, to ascertain whether the people involved are full civil servants or interim managers.

Departmental select committee chairs have provided mixed reviews of the departments they scrutinise for a Civil Service World Special Report, which has found that 40 per cent of them are dissatisfied with departments’ responses to their reports.

The loss of a train construction contract overseas has left coalition ministers arguing that civil servants should hand more contracts to UK firms. Stuart Watson examines the room for manoeuvre available within EU rules.

66 Broadway, Westminster

London SW1H 1DB

British Waterways chief Robin Evans has spent years campaigning for the public corporation to become a charitable trust. He tells Matt Ross why our canals are set to thrive outside the illusory security of government ownership

The government has just published the submissions to its open data consultation. Mark Rowe learns about the many and varied pressures on the Cabinet Office's transparency team, charged with finding a way forwards

Civil service leaders must praise good work, support employee development and remain “visible and understanding” to address the problem that civil servants are becoming less proud of their organisation, according to civil service head Sir Bob Kerslake.

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