Government Tax Profession

UK standards body BSI has published a guide to help standardise data and systems to help local government guide the creation of “smart cities”.

The Department of Health (DH) and Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) did not adequately prepare for the delivery of the Better Care Fund, said the National Audit Office’s (NAO) Planning for Better Care Fund report published today. 

Civil servants working in the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ’s) shared services centres face redundancies and office closures following a seven-year contract to outsource services to Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL), says Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). 

The way arm’s-length government is structured and held to account was branded “confused” and “opaque” in a Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) report today, and the Cabinet Office was called upon to bring clarity to how these bodies and organisations work within the civil service.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has announced plans to centralise TB testing on farms to ensure greater efficiency from April 2015. 

Referrals from Scottish police to crime agency have risen rapidly

The government should introduce five-year spending plans and independent assessments of its infrastructure plans, former cabinet secretary Lord O’Donnell told an audience at the Royal Statistical Society last month. 

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is launching a new strategy to support and protect bees and other pollinators in the UK. 

The appointment of women to the boards of public bodies has reached a record high, according to the commissioner for public appointments, Sir David Normington.

G-Cloud suppliers and services could be updated every three months, the government revealed yesterday in tender documents for the sixth iteration of the framework.

The Department for Energy & Climate Change (DECC) is asking key figures in the oil and gas industry for their views on the sanctions regime and cost recovery mechanisms of the newly established Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), as part of a consultation on the Wood Review. 

The Marketplace, designed to make it easier for government to do business with IT providers of all sizes, was launched today by Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude.

The leader of the Opposition’s new electoral strategist, Lucy Powell, was also named as shadow Cabinet Office minister in yesterday’s Labour mini-reshuffle.

Andy Samuel has been appointed as the chief executive of the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).

Local authority associations from across the UK call for meeting on more powers

Public sector ICT cloud services will account for more than half of worldwide software, server and storage spending growth by 2018, according to new analysis.

Natalie Ceeney (pictured receiving a CBE) has been appointed as the new chief executive of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). 

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced the three private sector companies who have been offered contracts to deliver its £164bn equipment plan. 

CSW asks former ministers to appraise the UK civil service. This month, Charles Clarke gives his views.

Greater Manchester will gain significant decision-making powers from Whitehall after chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne and leaders of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) signed a devolution agreement today. 

Finance professionals across government should “get on the front foot” and make sure they’re involved in the policymaking process, the government’s new director-general of public spending, Julian Kelly, has said.

Alex Younger has today taken up his new role as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), taking over from Sir John Sawers, who retired after five years in the post. 

Civil service CEO John Manzoni will now have to quit his second job next year following pressure from 70 leading medical professionals and charities over the potential conflict the role could cause.