Economy

Select committee chair Frank Field told DWP that he could not guarantee the universal credit reports he has obtained will remain confidential 

Watchdog says department could have to pay nation’s least punctual train operator tens of millions of pounds a year because of changes to its contract requirements

Transport department insists that franchise will continue to meet financial terms to 2020 and has paid more to Treasury than previous state-owned operator

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’

Department launches three-year plan to boost digital, data and technology offer

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

Peers question MPs' decision to further redact Brexit documents and call on David Davis to publish entire papers

BEIS says funding will also extend opening hours and protect rural branches

FCO teams up with DFID and British Council to tender for four-year framework to provide networking to 550 sites in the UK and throughout the world

Harlow Council planners approve blueprint for science campus

MPs slam department’s weak oversight after company made unauthorised redundancy payouts totalling £1.76m

You can’t take the politics out of big projects, but strengthening the National Infrastructure Commission and building the evidence base will lead to wiser decisions

Think-tank analysis identifies concessions on residency rights, a £39bn bill on the ‘never-never’, and hand-tying assurances on Northern Ireland in draft agreement

Senior officials past and present react to draft first-phase divorce agreement between UK and EU

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

NAO report calls on the government to ensure regulatory reforms can improve student perceptions of value for money

Tax agency has signed a 25-year lease on London office for 3,800 staff

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

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

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

When facing a policy puzzle, civil servants shouldn’t see trade associations as adversaries. As former trade body chair Sir Mark Boleat explains, they can be a useful resource for the savvy official