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MPs give qualified backing to Peter Riddell as new watchdog overseeing top public sector appointment – but say they will keep an eye on danger of "politicisation" in the wake of planned shake-up of the role

Union analysis of Cabinet Office data on more than 280,000 officials highlights "statistically significant" differences in how different groups are treated

Alliance for Useful Evidence project says incentives will be needed to ensure policy takes account of evidence

Home Affairs Committee chair Keith Vaz repeatedly questions Robbins on Border Force funding

Plans to change the way key public sector jobs are filled have drawn criticism from the former public appointments watchdog Sir David Normington, who is concerned they hand too much power to ministers. So what are the key concerns and how has the government responded?

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

International Development permanent secretary Mark Lowcock tells CSW that asking other departments to take on aid commitments won't undermine DfID's mission — and says some of his staff have been poached for their expertise

Malcolm McKibbin tells staff 17-month embargo on new hires is over, after around 3,000 staff quit service via Voluntary Exit Scheme

PHSO says Dr Bill Kirkup will lead investigations into most serious and complex cases brought before the public services watchdog

Bishop to lead body which regulates civil service appointments

Second perm sec to announce he is leaving the civil service after vying for top Treasury job

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

Bernard Jenkin says his Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee needs more time to scrutinise the government's choice for public appointments watchdog – and the government has yet to name its preferred candidate for the civil service equivalent

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

DfID’s Angela Balakrishnan tells Max Goldbart how cross-government working and innovative content helped to keep the public informed at the height of the Ebola outbreak

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

Largest civil service union to ballot members on closure of Department for Business, Innovation and Skills St Paul's Place site – as permanent secretary Martin Donnelly tells MPs the decision will "make policy work more cost-effectively"

Government's preferred candidate to succeed Sir David Normington as Commissioner for Public Appointments says revamped process for filling top public jobs will not result in ministers "just being able to get who they want"

International Development Committee gives broad backing to UK's new aid strategy – but warns DfID not to lose sight of poverty focus as other departments take on responsibility for spending development assistance funds

New appointments in the civil service, UK politics, and public affairs, via our colleagues on Dods People

Committee chair Bernard Jenkin warns cabinet secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood that guidance on support for pro-Brexit ministers could leave officials exposed during legal proceedings — but Heywood says withdrawing them "would simply create uncertainty and confusion"

Bath and North East Somerset Council's Jo Farrar set to join Department for Communities and Local Government's senior management team

Outgoing director of the Institute for Government think tank due to take over from Sir David Normington at watchdog ensuring ministers fill top public jobs on merit

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