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Cabinet secretary tells the public administration and constitutional affairs select committee that "nobody's having any difficulty with my guidance on the ground", as eurosceptics hit out at curbs on civil service support for ministers in favour of Britain leaving the European Union

Burns Commission on Freedom of Information sides against charges for FOI requests, but calls for greater clarity on protecting policy-making

Treasury perm sec Nick Macpherson says incoming HMRC chief exec Thompson will focus on "spending the money", while executive chair Edward Troup will oversee "strategic, policy and reputational leadership" of the tax authority

Interviews for the top Treasury job get going this week – as Macpherson jokes process could "go into a black hole for many months"

"One of our most important collective responsibilities is to improve the diversity of our senior leadership," says cabinet secretary, as new senior network launched

Thompson to succeed Lin Homer as chief executive, while tax specialist Edward Troup to chair the board's executive committee

Public Accounts Committee criticises lack of transparency over HM Revenue and Customs' £130m, ten-year tax deal with Google – but says department has taken "a step in the right direction" in pledging reform of penalty regime

MPs say closure of BIS Sheffield will result in "loss of vital expertise, shrink the civil service talent pool and reduce the variety of experiences that contribute to policy-making"

New report by the public spending watchdog finds "major concerns about how accountability of taxpayers' money is exercised"

Public and Commercial Services union mulls industrial action over "unnecessary and inflammatory" compulsory redundancies – but HMRC says it has done "everything possible" to avert the situation

With responsibility for policing, immigration, borders and countering extremism, Mark Sedwill certainly has a lot on his plate. The Home Office permanent secretary talks to Matt Foster about the power of events, the drive to improve staff morale – and why the department’s “policy-heavy” headquarters are in line for a shake-up

Home Office's top official tells CSW his ongoing review of the core department will see its headquarters "delayered" and its "management structures simplified" in a bid to better to support the frontline and learn from other departments

Transport department has improved its ability to let rail franchises, MPs say, but still lacks the capability to manage them, and does not have a “coherent strategic vision” for the rail system

Rolling out text alerts, sorting out "crap" government IT, cleaning up data, and trying to recruit skilled people when the money's tight — there's plenty going on in the world of government digital, as Matt Foster found at the Government Digital Service's annual gathering

Report by the National Audit Office lays bare the problems facing flagship mutual - but Cabinet Office says it has taken steps to turn the situation around. Unions meanwhile welcomed the spending watchdog's findings

90% of business department's sites to close under BIS 2020 programme, says Sajid Javid, as Martin Donnelly calls decision to shut Sheffield office "one of the most difficult" of his career

As Cabinet Office launches new government-wide set of commercial standards, civil service chief executive John Manzoni talks up recruitment of contract experts – and explains tricky balancing act of supporting departments "in an intelligent, helpful, and yet challenging way"

National Audit Office report finds City of London Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Confederation of British Industry, and Deloitte topping list of providers of hospitality and gifts to senior officials — and calls for better central scrutiny of transparency returns

Prime minister unveils moves to scrap declaration of criminal convictions in initial application stage - as Whitehall's new chief people officer Rupert McNeil stresses that safety checks will remain in place

Proposals, which come hot on the heels of Treasury plans to curb exit pay across the public sector, have already drawn fire from the PCS, FDA and Prospect civil service unions

Government hails major savings on government estate since 2010 and sets out plans to go further - but the PCS union warns "vital local services" will be undermined

Report by the Alliance for Useful Evidence and the Institute for Government finds officials held back by "structural and cultural barriers" between UK's various governments

Cabinet Office-commissioned report finds flagship Fast Stream graduate programme remains “unrepresentative of the population at large”, as minister Matt Hancock vows to take action

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Louise Haigh says BIS showed "lack of empathy" in St Paul’s Place closure announcement

Reducing reliance on consultants and temps will require "much more fundamental workforce transformation" than seen so far, civil service chief John Manzoni tells MPs. But he says the organisation is "on the road" to addressing the problem

In correspondence seen by CSW, HMRC chief Lin Homer defends "robust and transparent approach" to redundancies – but "outraged​" PCS union says department has failed to consider all options

Report by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee says that final round of funding to the beleaguered youth charity — subject to a warning from then-Cabinet Office perm sec Richard Heaton — "should not have been authorised"

"Contingent Labour One" will be replaced with a "Temporary Worker Contracting Vehicle", as CCS places heavy focus on digital skills and hints at smaller lots

HMRC's Jim Harra says critics of deal with Google are misunderstanding corporation tax rules – but Labour's John McDonnell renews attack on "very poor deal"

FDA and Prospect urge the Senior Salaries Review Body to back a front-loaded 4% payrise and warn of "divisive" attempts to boost the pay of only a limited number of specialists

Four years on from a major overhaul of Whitehall’s learning and development programme, Civil Service Learning is embarking on another big shake-up. Matt Foster sits down with CSL director Hilary Spencer to discuss what “phase two” will mean for officials

Chief executive of the Infrastructure and Projects Watchdog seeks to reassure MPs after merger with Treasury unit – and John Manzoni says new organisation will have more "teeth"

As Lords Committee looks into whether Scotland needs a separate civil service, former Cabinet secretary Lord O'Donnell says London house prices "seriously damage mobility" between Whitehall and the rest of the UK

Report by MPs says Eurostar sale was managed well but that government used "over cautious assumptions" and should do more to build in-house corporate finance knowledge

Coalition justice minister Lord McNally warns FoI review panel is a "rigged jury" – while Lib Dem chief whip Tom Brake attacks Jeremy Heywood and Gus O'Donnell

New guidance tells officials: "do not consult for the sake of it".