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Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin tells CSW it "should not be necessary to badger ministers and officials into doing the right thing", after Leave campaigners pushed to ensure pro-EU websites were not promoted in the final run-up to the referendum

Civil Service Board backs move to let key commercial staff work directly for the centre of government, potentially sitting outside of departmental pay and grading

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills perm sec Martin Donnelly vows to ensure staff are "fully supported" as he confirms plan to shut Sheffield policy site by January 2018. CSW has full details and reaction from the PCS and FDA unions, Labour, and frontline staff

Department for Business perm sec Martin Donnelly arrives to brief staff on possible St Paul's Place closure plans – as strike action continues

Labour leader backs long-running aim of the Public and Commercial Services union, that would see an end to departmental chiefs setting their own pay for staff

Public and Commercial Services union general secretary says union must have “very important" debate about its future direction, and says PCS is "still standing" in spite of plans to end deduction of union fees from civil servants' pay packets

New report by the UK’s aid watchdog says Department for International Development’s claims on improving access to water and sanitation are credible — but warns department’s focus may be too short-term

Online verification service passes service assessment, as Janet Hughes vows to listen and learn as scheme is introduced across departments

Exclusive: As BIS Sheffield staff go on strike over the department's plan to move policy jobs to London, shadow cabinet office minister Louise Haigh denies that MPs are ignoring the need for departmental reform – and urges better local consultation. Photo credit: Amerjit Basi​

Crown Commercial Service to roll out the Open Contracting Data Standard across Whitehall by the autumn, as Cabinet Office acknowledges current contracts info acting as a "barrier to suppliers and businesses"

Independent Commission for Aid Impact says DfID has offered "global policy leadership" in fight against issues including female genital mutilation and child marriage

Cabinet secretary and head of the civil service Sir Jeremy Heywood responds after critics point to lack of female leaders at the very top of Whitehall

Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union announces one-day strike action of policy officials set to be affected by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills' plan to close its office in Sheffield

Union general secretary rounds on plans for another overhaul of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, with planned changes "all the more galling” after 2010's negotiations

General secretary of union for senior civil servants says staff cuts taking a toll on membership numbers — but defends move to extend reach with new Keystone initiative

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Louise Haigh tells CSW that government must provide more info on the perm sec appointments process, as final vacant perm sec post is filled by a man

Appointment of new leader at the energy department comes after the Competition and Markets Authority called for a "reset" of government's relationship with energy suppliers

Cabinet Office’s Iain Patterson cautions against changing departmental tech for the sake of it, as he sheds more light on ‘Ocean Liner’ review of big government IT contracts

MPs says Rural Payments Agency "must communicate clearly with its customers and ensure that it is appropriately resourced" to avoid repeat of the delays faced by farmers waiting on Common Agricultural Payments

MPs say they will call on the National Audit Office to probe BIS's figures ahead of key meeting on future of its Sheffield site

Specialist union's formal response to Cabinet Office's planned shake-up of Civil Service Compensation Scheme warns of impact on workforce management – and raises prospect of industrial action

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee chair Bernard Jenkin says legislation may be needed to make non-executive directors brought into government feel less disposable

Row over the EU guidance for civil servants rumbles on — as prime minister prepares for select committee grilling

PCS study of almost 25,000 civil servants, including managers, finds widespread concern about the way performance management is working in practice

Cabinet Office review prompts fresh distinctions between executive agencies (EAs), non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and non-ministerial departments (NMDs)

National Audit Office says probation services "have been sustained throughout a period of major changes" – but warns of "unsurprising frictions" between private and public sector staff

BIS perm sec seeks to justify closure of Sheffield site, and says departmental cuts will mean reducing headcount by 30%-40% "over time"

PAC urges stronger cross-government effort to clamp down on fines incurred for errors in the way government spends EU funds

Pinsent Masons lawyer and former Stonewall chair David Isaac to become chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) after promising to step back from decisions around government contracts

Former chief of defence materiel, who left the civil service at the end of 2015, to carry out progress review for the MoD on equipment buying

Foreign Affairs Committee report says challenges of vote to leave would not be "insurmountable" for the Foreign Office – but makes clear the department would need a big boost in resources to cope with the fall-out

Open data organisation co-founded by Sir Tim Berners-Lee says proposed model for the privately-owned Land Registry "appears very similar to historic examples of long-term outsourcing deals and risks repeating the same mistakes"

Union's deputy general secretary says 1% average pay rise cap is "not sustainable", after government gives departments more freedom to reward "outstanding" senior officials

Government sets out response as Senior Salaries Review Body warns some managers earning less than their juniors – but FDA blasts "sticking plaster" approach

Dawes chairs first meeting of the cross-departmental Civil Service People Board – and vows "more strategic look at reward and pay" and focus on making sure staff have accurate pension info

Meg Hillier and Iain Wright demand detail on BIS restructuring – after permanent secretary Martin Donnelly says the department cannot give figures while redundancy talks continue