Economics

Public Accounts Committee calls for forensic audit of spending at UK Trade & Investment after concluding contractor took advantage of arm’s-length body

Newport campus part of £17m investment in new technology and data sources

Centralised purchasing body still needs to develop full business case, according to committee

Watchdog warns demands of service pressures, major projects and Brexit are outpacing Whitehall’s capacity to deliver at a time of staffing restrictions and spending restraint

New department says £125k role will focus on developing its “underpinning foundations”, building values and forming its culture

Auditor general says he has support for plan from Whitehall permanent secretaries

Treasury Select Committee says it would be “imprudent” for decisions on the multi-billion pound overhaul to be taken before inquiry is complete

Davinder Mann promoted to lead operations at business-aiding agency

Think tank argues chancellor’s bungled budget fundraiser makes case for better policymaking

National Audit Office says department’s attempts to address delays have compressed its Carrier Strike delivery schedule and “added risk with limited contingency”

Public Accounts Committee says economic case is “crystal clear” for both houses to relocate for the duration of a £3.9bn overhaul

Treasury and Cabinet Office vow to better align much-criticised SDPs with Brexit planning and Whitehall's ongoing £3.5bn efficiency review. But they reject calls to bring the public documents in line with the more detailed internal versions

Fledgling ministry offers £90,000 a year for senior officer to deliver “single device” for international trade staff to work with

Unions round on the chancellor as Budget sticks to George Osborne's 2015 departmental cuts plans in spite of Brexit vote

Hammond avoids big tweaks to Whitehall budgets, but targets extra funding for social care and business rate relief

Treasury trails Hammond's first Budget, as OECD upgrades UK growth forecast

RSA says power in the UK remains "too centralised" – and urges central government to give more freedom to local authorities to tackle regional imbalances

Union calls for independent review of pay as it warns that maintaining a 1% cap on pay rises is “unsustainable”

Continuing pay cap would mean up to 20% drop in average civil service earnings by 2020, union analysis reveals

After decades of reviews aimed at driving down the civil service's running costs, Sir Michael Barber, former chief of Blair's delivery unit, is hailed by one Whitehall-watcher as "much less celebrity and much more focused on getting the job done"

Chancellor will not use improved growth forecasts to borrow more money, it is reported

Internal appointments come ahead of expansion of the public spending watchdog’s remit

PCS union points out that staffing costs make up a big chunk of departmental spending, and called on Philip Hammond to ditch George Osborne's extra cuts

House of Lords committee puts HMRC officials through their paces