Civil Service Reform

Government claims 10-year plan to converge back office services will save millions of pounds

The prime minister’s reshuffle gave a number of policy areas increased prominence in the government landscape. But it is not clear what changing a department’s name will achieve

MPs ‘disappointed’ with government rejection of recommendations for extra safeguards to prevent sidelining of ministers in key decisions 

Entire ministerial team at the central Whitehall department changes as Theresa May completes wide-ranging government reshuffle

Former justice secretary does not take ‘first secretary of state’ title while Esther McVey named new work and pensions secretary

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

Reform hailed as evidence of One Team government approach to improving how Whitehall works

Partially government-owned Behavioural Insights Team publishes results of trial schemes and urges Whitehall to take notice

Parts of the civil service have spent 2017 developing bold new ways to do things in government. They must prosper in what will be an uncomfortable year ahead

Cabinet Office Single Departmental Plan also reveals proposals for a new shared services strategy as part of moves to boost commercial capability

Public appointment commissioner lauds progress on gender diversity but brands record for disabled people “inadequate”

BT talks with the futurists and visionaries preparing the UK for a digital future

Automation can create jobs with the right policies in place, deputy leader Tom Watson says in new report

 Public Accounts Committee criticises departments' “business as usual” assumption for 2019 and berates pace of pan-Whitehall Border Planning Group 

Former Cabinet Office minister told MPs he became disillusioned with civil service skills and repeats call for basic training

Infrastructure and Projects Authority says new team will be created to ensure costs and schedules of major schemes are achievable

Surge in consumers’ use of messaging and social media is transforming their expectations of service, says new BT and Cisco research

Susanna Smith from the Public Chairs’ Forum and Association of Chief Executives highlights the key themes – from relocations to Brexit – being discussed at Cabinet Office’s Public Bodies Week

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

As she leaves government to return to the private sector, Sherin Aminossehe shares her lessons from working in Whitehall – from the ministers to the acronyms

Public Bodies 2017 report suggests some “tailored reviews” will be rescheduled until post-EU landscape becomes clearer

From weather forecasting to healthcare inspection, public bodies play a crucial role in maintaining public services. Lesley Ann Nash, the director for public bodies reform at the Cabinet Office, explains what government is doing to keep them fit for purpose

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

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