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The departure of the director of public prosecutions is just one example where public servants have faced scrutiny from a hostile media. It is time ministers had the courage to challenge unwarranted media attacks

Officials continue to serve the public interest despite DExEU’s Mr Lover Lover and a dodgy double act in the Commons

As the pay cap is being lifted for other parts of the public sector, SCS pay reform needs ambition and commitment, not aspirational blather

Two Cabinet ministers have effectively accused civil servants of politically-motivated attacks. They cannot hide behind anonymous sources to attack hard working government professionals

The system for civil service pay has turned into both a farce and a disaster. The government must lift the 1% cap and take action to address the gap with the private sector

If the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union are at risk of bombing, it is down to the political uncertainty, not officials working in difficult circumstances

Hollywood has lessons for the long-running compensation scheme saga, but there's no guaranteed happy ending

Summer recess spurns all kinds of stories, but the international development secretary’s splash on ‘crazy’ Whitehall salaries was particularly cowardly

Policies without adequate funds for implementation are little more than hot air, says the FDA general secretary

Recording the extent of Whitehall's long-hours culture is the first step to a better deal for civil servants

Brexit isn’t the only difficult issue that next month’s vote needs to fix

Momentous life events remind us why the last thing we need is politicians playing fast and loose with our public services

The US is giving us an ongoing education in the importance of an impartial civil service, argues the FDA union's general secretary 

Reaching an agreement on thorny issues like redundancy pay is never easy – but it’s always better than the alternative

As MPs went round in circles on Chilcot and the EU referendum, the FDA general secretary Dave Penman wondered how Sir Jeremy Heywood maintained his calm, settled demeanour

The civil service can deliver the best outcome possible from exiting the EU, says the FDA union's general secretary – but only if it is given clear political direction as well as the required capability and capacity

While civil servants navigate the EU divorce, politicians need to ponder why so many fear what is beyond our borders

Demanding more work for less money from civil servants risks damaging public services, says the FDA union's general secretary

Select committees do valuable work, but the relentless grandstanding by some of their members damages public services and does nothing to hold government to account

Over the last decade the civil service has managed significant reductions in headcount. Why place all of this in jeopardy?

It’s right that the current crop of successful, committed public servants have been recognised by the honours system. But with senior officials’ pay and reward packages decreasing while the political risk associated with their roles shoots up, will the government be able to attract equally talented successors? 

Ministers keep talking about hammering down public sector terms to private sector levels, while dreaming up new exemptions in order to compete

We rightly expect a lot from our perm secs – and the controversy over public funding for the Kids Company charity shows how important their advice can be

The FDA general secretary says it’s time to speak up for so-called middle managers, who set the tone for the vast majority of civil servants

The chief of the FDA union warns that Whitehall will miss out on a significant talent pool if under-represented groups do not believe a leadership role in the civil service is for them

Opinion: The Trade Union Bill ignores the positive role that unions can play

George Osborne says Britain deserves a pay rise. Unless you work in the public sector, of course

Plans to cap “six figure” exit payments for public sector workers could have damaging consequences for trust and workforce management

Civil servants want to see a light at the end of the tunnel, not five more years of the same, argues the FDA union's general secretary Dave Penman

Changes to civil service media rules dreamt up in Whitehall look very different to officials on the frontline, argues FDA union general secretary Dave Penman

Amid the furore around HSBC's Swiss operations, FDA general secretary Dave Penman says we should remember that HMRC has had to prioritise in the face of budget cuts

All the main parties agree on the need to make savings – but simply rearranging the deckchairs won’t be enough

The proposed cap on public sector redundancy payments is just the latest example of politicians jumping on the ‘fat cat’ bandwagon

Why are select committees so rude? Yes, they must challenge witnesses – but there’s no need to be disrespectful

The public sector is hurting – particularly civil servants. The government must act before the damage is irreparable

The referendum offered a neat demonstration of the civil service’s capabilities. Now we must learn from its experiences