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Former UN ambassador began work as department’s top official yesterday

Government Communications Service director Alex Aiken says social media team will ‘reclaim a fact-based public debate’

After two years as Westminster’s chief public-spending watchdog, Meg Hillier tells Tamsin Rutter her frustrations and aspirations on pre-scrutinising projects, taking the fight against tax evasion to the US and extending FOI

Public Accounts Committee warns “a lot at stake” with Carrier Strike programme 

Official statistics body launches audit of inequalities data and signals desire to work closely with rest of government and civil society

Though some politicians dismiss civil servants’ ability to get jobs “in the real world”, moving between sectors is more and more common. Tamsin Rutter takes a look at the data to find out where top officials go after leaving Whitehall

Cabinet secretary tells MPs Whitehall is looking at ways to reward civil servants who stay in their jobs for longer

Public administration select committee announces new inquiry into risks of outsourcing following collapse of contractor Carillion

Cabinet Office records fall in civil service sickness absence but high proportion of sick days due to mental ill health

Code updated to protect staff and prevent inappropriate overseas visits following Damian Green, Michael Fallon and Priti Patel scandals

Prime minister announces rebranded Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Department of Health and Social Care 

Former infrastructure tsar and Cabinet minister says Brexit is sidelining other issues and claims half of civil servants believe government policy is ‘trashing the national interest’

PCS union accuses department of casualising the workforce as proposal follows years of staffing cuts

Philip Rutnam and predecessor Mark Sedwill join HMRC’s Edward Troup in list of public servants recognised by the Queen

The former Treasury solicitor shares his reflections from a Whitehall career with Tamsin Rutter

NAO report identifies staffing gaps in five departments and high rate of turnover in DExEU

NI Audit Office says government is not delivering value for money on its ageing and inefficient office estate

New directors general roles announced after DIT expands by 1,000 staff in a year

Two parliamentary reports highlight problems at Irish border and frustration at perceived Whitehall “power grab”

Department leads on over one-fifth of the cross-Whitehall projects that need to be implemented for EU exit, according to auditors

Lack of Brexit clarity has stoked fears that government “will expect the impossible” from immigration staff

Health and education departments first to benefit from ‘confidence and supply’ agreement

Policy Institute warns that current Whitehall structures "lack of strategic thinking and leadership" to implement the industrial strategy

MPs accuse DExEU of "contempt" after sectoral analysis handed to Brexit committee was stripped of market-sensitive information

Appointments expected in first half of 2018 will fulfil Conservative party manifesto promise

Polly Payne and Ruth Hannant named directors general for Rail Group in move hailed by perm sec as progress in "overwhelmingly male" industry

DExEU minister reveals department has 32 trained mental health champions in wellbeing drive

Office for Statistics Regulation tells perm sec department must tighten pre-release access procedures 

Trade union bosses warn against treating officials like “faceless bureaucrats” and fingering them with blame over Brexit talks

New research carried out with Civil Service Employment Policy builds on case against “guided distribution” but shows performance can also be boosted by new management techniques

Former perm sec argues FCO was disempowered by “unnecessary creation” of Department for International Trade

Post-Brexit Britain “could lose its research edge” unless departments step up, say public spending watchdogs

Senior officials defend rationale for new GPS tags but admit major failings of project now delayed by more than five years 

PAC report says tax agency doesn’t yet have money to upgrade customs service and develop contingency option in case of delays

Sinn Féin and DUP fail to reach power-sharing deal but Northern Ireland secretary insists new legislation does not amount to direct rule

Clare Moriarty led the scoping work on faith and belief for the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy