Operational Delivery

Transport secretary Chris Grayling insists services are improving and some recommendations are already being implemented

Lidington pledges to continue reform programme, but Labour criticise lack of legislation the Queen’s Speech

Queen’s Birthday Honours list also includes knighthood for UN under-secretary general Stephen O’Brien

Small increase in Whitehall headcount reported by ONS, but employment remains almost 150,000 posts below peak set before spending cuts

New minister responsible for civil service has praise for officials but also complains about 'ropey' delivery 

MPs and centre users back call to save one of 78 threatened offices

Senior civil service has biggest range of average salaries of any grade across Whitehall, with Treasury chiefs paid least

Commission calls on civil service to scrutinise EU regulations relating to public services to plan reforms ahead of exit

Conservationists voice fears over proposals to remodel listed city office block

Veteran negotiator Jonathan Powell lauds civil service’s post-referendum progress but cautions on remaining skills gaps

The Institute for Government says budget projections must not provide “cover for misleading intentions”

New combined authority chiefs could improve services and boost local economies if offered new menu of powers, says think tank

Institute for Government report says free movement could stay for several years because new system won’t be ready

Institute for Government report draws lessons from global take-up of Blair-era innovation

Wash-up period sees government compromise to rush crucial tax legislation through House of Commons

Public Accounts Committee report on outsourced tax credits debacle says agency lacked the commercial capacity for the payment-by-results deal

Changes to be judged on how funding can promote sustainability of services and reduce worklessness

Rise in spending through aid outsourcing has turned DfID into a commissioning department, say MPs

Think tank says data dashboards have the potential to mislead and urges government to boost staff’s data science skills

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

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

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

One-year to the introduction of quarterly reporting announced after concern MPs on the Treasury committee

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"