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An intergovernmental committee is required to formalise the relationship between the Welsh and UK governments so that it “doesn’t depend on individual good relationships between people”, Noel Lloyd, a member of the Commission on Devolution in Wales, has told the Welsh Affairs Select Committee.

CSW reviews Bibimbap

The government’s One Government Overseas initiative is designed to save money and improve services by fostering collaboration between civil servants working outside the UK. Winnie Agbonlahor examines its impact

The Foreign Office has moved to calm fears of a big rise in the charges asked of other government bodies who’ve taken office space in its buildings overseas.

More than 100 civil servants in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have got their boots muddy in a series of farm visits aimed at improving their understanding of farming.

Dr Vanessa Lawrence (pictured) has stepped down as director-general of Ordnance Survey after 14 years in the role.

Outsourcing giant G4S has been cleared to bid for government contracts after it was barred from doing so earlier this year following an over-charging scandal.

As head of civil service workforce reform, Adrian Dottridge oversees controversial reforms to pensions, pay & T&Cs. Winnie Agbonlahor hears him explain why his team members don’t deserve their reputation as ‘panto villains’

Dr Vanessa Lawrence, director general and chief executive of Ordnance Survey, is leaving the organisation at the end of the year.

Civil servants have been urged by the Government Digital Service to use more online tools such as Twitter, SurveyMonkey and LinkedIn.

When my friend invited me to the Parcel Yard at King’s Cross Station, my hopes for a pleasant venue weren’t high. Having spent a fair bit of time awaiting trains, waiting for arrivals or seeking solace after missing a train, I have seen rather a lot of train stations’ facilities. My experience of station pubs has been one of peculiar smells, questionable characters and grumpy bar staff.

The Civil Service Workforce Reform Team is planning to “ramp up the communication” about civil service pensions reform in the next few weeks, its head has told CSW.

As head of civil service workforce reform, Adrian Dottridge oversees controversial reforms to pensions, pay & T&Cs. Winnie Agbonlahor hears him explain why his team members don’t deserve their reputation as ‘panto villains’

A recent blog post by, the head of the civil service, about the government’s new performance management (PM) system has prompted civil servants to post over 500 comments – more than 95% of them negative.

Departments should be allocated funding according to the degree to which they boost the nation’s wellbeing, according to Lord O’Donnell, former cabinet secretary and head of the civil service – who led a recent report into the topic.

Departments must stop using commercial confidentiality as a reason for withholding information about contracts, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in a report published today.

The Lords’ Select Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005 urges the government to set up a specialist unit to handle public inquiries, in a report published this week.

The Commons’ Education Committee is calling on the government to develop a national strategy for care provision in its report on residential children’s homes published yesterday.

Andy Nelson, chief information officer at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), is quitting the civil service after four years in Whitehall. He will stay until the summer to “ensure continuity and an effective hand-over to his successor”, a DWP spokesperson said.

Security firm G4S has agreed to refund the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) £108.9m, plus VAT, after over-charging the government on contracts to electronically monitor criminals.

The Department for Education (DfE) came under fire last week over claims that trusts running academies are handing contracts to their friends and relatives, or to companies in which they have a financial interest.

The former chief executive of construction giant Balfour Beatty, Ian Tyler, has been made the crown representative responsible for managing relations between Whitehall and outsourcing giant G4S.

An NHS administrator at an urban community health trust explains the pros and cons of having managers, rather than clinicians, running the NHS

Chief procurement officer Bill Crothers, having reviewed 28 Serco and G4S contracts, is strengthening his team’s ability to spot and rescue sinking outsourcing projects across Whitehall. Winnie Agbonlahor examines his plans.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is to expand from 600 staff to around 1,000 by 2016-17.

The Ministry of Defence’s recruitment project, which aims to hire more than 10,000 reservists through an online IT programme, is almost two years behind schedule and will not be fully operational until April 2015 at the earliest,the Times has reported.

A total of £12bn should be cut from the welfare bill in the first two years of next Parliament, in order to spare government departments from “even faster cuts”, chancellor George Osborne has announced today.

The government is to hand additional powers to the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) to oversee departments’ contract management plans and “step in” when it sees fit, after it accepted all recommendations made by chief procurement officer Bill Crothers in a review of major government contracts.

Lord Levene, the former MoD permanent secretary who advises government on defence reform, has mapped out a way forward for Defence Equipment & Support. Meanwhile, defence secretary Philip Hammond this week scrapped the ‘Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated’ (GoCo) model of defence procurement reform.

The Commons’ Liaison Committee is today calling for an independent commission into the future of the civil service, and in a report published today raises concerns that the government’s reform plan is not based on a “strategic consideration of the future of the civil service”.

The government’s vision for local growth, as set out in its 2010 white paper ‘Local growth: realising every place’s potential’, has “not been translated into measurable objectives against which to judge achievement and hold departments to account”, a report by the National Audit Office has warned.

Universal Credit (UC) director general Howard Shiplee has blamed a “mantra of digital by default” for some of the problems in the government’s flagship programme.

The Institute for Government (IfG) has called on the government to provide greater openness about the reasons for permanent secretary departures and moves in a report on accountability in Whitehall.

Penny Ciniewicz joined the civil service after a career in theatre. Winnie Agbonlahor learns how her role as chief of the Valuation Office Agency involves choreographing the many players involved in assessing properties

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is creating a digital academy to develop the skills to use a range of new technologies, the department’s chief information officer Andy Nelson, has said.

Departments are set to lose £1bn out of their combined contingency reserves this year and will have their budgets cut by a total of £1bn each year until 2015-16, chancellor George Osborne has announced in his Autumn Statement today.