Economy

National Audit Office (NAO) report finds that each loan given out under the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Green Deal cost government £17,000, and flags poor use of evidence and testing when the scheme was designed 

Troup faces media scrutiny over role at Simmons & Simmons – as HMRC points out his role "has never involved responsibility for operational activities or direct dealings with companies on their tax affairs"

HMRC asks for access to the Panama Papers offshore leaks and vows to "relentlessly pursue" wrongdoing – but tax expert Richard Murphy says department "just hasn’t got the resources"

From the editor: Iain Duncan Smith's resignation highlights the sheer power of the Treasury under George Osborne

Communities and Local Government Committee says local authorities "must be able to have confidence in the effective operation" of the framework drawn up by central government to guide development decisions

As the Treasury's permanent Nick Macpherson this week departs the civil service after more than a decade as the department's most senior official, here's our full conversation with his former boss as chancellor, Alistair Darling – who worked with Macpherson as the Treasury grappled with the 2007-8 global economic crisis

Decade-long IT contract – underpinning £500bn in tax revenue – to come to an early end

Infrastructure and Projects Authority says strong public sector involvement coupled with move away from traditional government structures has been a important factor in the success of capital projects like London 2012 and Crossrail

Government Outcomes Lab being set up in partnership with Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government​ in a bid to assess the impact of outcome-based commissioning ​schemes

Since Clare Moriarty became permanent secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last August, she has found herself drawing on three decades of Whitehall experience to tackle challenges like flooding and organisational reform. Jess Bowie meets her

Juan Garcés de Marcilla, Director of Copernicus Services, ECMWF, explains the purpose of the EU’s earth observation programme and the economic and moral imperative to act on the insight it provides.

PAC says "encouraging signs of change" on the commercial front – but urges Cabinet Office to do more to chase up departments who are failing to make progress

Passing powers from Whitehall to local areas is a key government goal. But do civil servants have enough understanding of what is happening on the ground to make the policy work? Colin Marrs talks to experts and officials to find out

New data science projects given the go-ahead in this week’s Budget will give the nation richer and more precise economic figures, the Office for National Statistics has said

There is much to learn from the MyCSP fiasco, which has caused a great deal of distress to people who have worked hard for the civil service

PAC report casts doubt on ability of beefed-up major projects watchdog to scrutinise government’s biggest schemes, and calls on Cabinet Office to explain how it will meet skills shortages needed for "transformation"

Review says Department for Transport must do more to shape the future development of the nation's rail infrastructure

Proposals to make local government financially self-sufficient by 2020 must not be impacted by George Osborne's business-boosting measures, a lobby group has warned

Budget pledges a further £71m investment in HMRC's frontline operations "to improve the service it provides taxpayers".

Chancellor says: "I’ve made adjustments to my plans to make sure we are going to live within our means"

FDA union chief Dave Penman says pensions move will make make budget cuts "significantly worse” than the chancellor's headline announcements

Plans to end local authority reliance on Whitehall gather pace

 "Departmental efficiency review" will "help deliver a further £3.5 billion of savings from public spending" in 2019-20, says George Osborne

Chancellor pays tribute to "great public servant" – but SNP MPs jeer reference to "impartiality"