Civil Service Reform

Civil service network seeks to build pan-Whitehall expertise in areas such as payment-by results and agent-based modelling

Ben Gummer says government has a "clear and co-orindated" vision for digital and says he already "commissioned it to do two very large pieces of work that it wasn’t doing before"

Treasury resistance hampered early planning, while over-stretched senior officials failed to spot warning signs that the project to overhaul benefits was failing, according to an in-depth report published by the Institute for Government

Martin Donnelly (pictured) will lead the new Department for International Trade for a transitional period, while former DECC perm sec Alex Chisholm takes on the expanded business department

Council chiefs urge greater say in DWP's replacement for the Work Programme

Downing Street moves to dampen speculation that Theresa May is considering a rethink on George Osborne's drive to give away powers in exchange for elected mayors

Daniel Thornton of the respected IfG think tank predicts greater role in business transformation work for government departments

UK's new prime minister is said to be considering lifting the requirement for local authorities to have elected mayors to get devolution deals

The highest proportion of top public sector jobs on record went to women in the last year, new figures from the Commissioner for Public Appointments show

The UK ran a surplus of just £1bn last month – £200m lower than July 2015

Equalities and Human Rights Commission paints stark picture of differing outcomes for ethnic minority groups and urges government to join up disparate initiatives

Former Labour minister Nick Raynsford, a key player in setting up the Greater London Authority, tells CSW that civil servants and ministers are still reluctant to let go of powers

More than 40 staff unable to relocate or who turned down voluntary exit could be made redundant under first round of estate downsizing

Former NHS England director for patients and information set to run Australia's national digital health services and systems

Policy Exchange proposes “turbo charged” devolution of Whitehall functions to councils and city regions over the next five years

Jobcentres have won praise for getting people into work at a time of economic crisis. But ensuring they're fit for the digital age will need ministerial resolve as well as technical know-how, argues William Mosseri-Marlio of the Reform think tank

Key government-as-a-platform service moves a step closer

Former minister for the Cabinet Office also tells the Centre for Public Impact that he regrets not doing more to iron out civil servants' frustrations with technology

Earlier this month, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority published its annual report shedding light on the government’s largest and most complex projects. Alongside details on budget and timelines, each project is given a red, amber or green rating to indicate how likely it is to deliver expected benefits. Suzannah Brecknell takes a look at some of the key findings

Machinery of government change shifts Office for Civil Society functions to Department for Culture, Media and Sport

National Audit Office says HMRC must not make taxpayers "underwrite the risk of failure through service breakdowns" – as tax expert tells CSW the timetable for Making Tax Digital may need to be reset

Institute for Government warns of "time, cost and distraction that would inevitably come from creating an entirely new organisation"

Not long ago, the team overseeing digital transformation in Whitehall was in need of some significant changes itself. Zara Farrar, leader of the Government Digital Service’s women’s group, tells Rebecca Hill how GDS reinvented its attitude to women

Tom Scholar rejects suggestion referendum preparations were weak and focused on securing a “Remain” result – but confirms existence of civil service-wide resource review