Operational Delivery

The Department for Transport has addressed the causes of the failed West Coast rail franchise, the NAO spending watchdog finds – but risks remain to future competitions as work on HS2 delays the new West Coast franchise by six months

Civilian MoD workforce reportedly in line for staffing reductions as David Cameron prepares to unveil Strategic Defence and Security Review

Tim Loughton says DfE officials questioned making a “special case” of the Kids Company charity – while Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin is quizzed on where the “buck stops” for its final round of public funding

Latest Whitehall Monitor from the Institute for Government says government must not take quality of open data for granted – and says new chief data officer will need "sufficient political and institutional clout" to make the issue a priority

Information Commissioner's Office tells the Burns review of Freedom of Information that charges – backed by officials in a recent CSW survey – would have a "deterrent effect" and could create more work for departments

Healthcare Financial Management Association urges the government to go beyond £8bn pledge – and sounds the alarm on NHS deficits

Exclusive: Business department's top official Martin Donnelly tells CSW he will have "failed" if diversity agenda falls by the wayside – and sheds light on what the BIS 2020 review means for the organisation's regional presence

Find out which civil servants won awards at Thursday night's prestigious Buckingham Palace bash

Stinging report by the Public Accounts Committee says government funding to the collapsed charity was “never seriously questioned, let alone stopped”

Insitute for Government report says there is "insufficient recognition" that "less money will often mean doing less" – and urges clear statements of intent from new single departmental plans

PCS and Prospect plan walkouts over pay and terms – while the agency's chief says strike move is "disappointing"

HM Revenue & Customs briefs staff on major downsizing of its estate – CSW has the key details and reaction from unions

Geoffrey Spence to step aside as Infrastructure UK merged with major projects watchdog

Crown Commercial Service's director of complex transactions to temporarily serve as chief commercial officer

Theresa May sketches out Home Office vision for the next five years – and confirms that Home Office perm sec Mark Sedwill is reviewing size of the department's central HQ

"We don’t have the right policies to meet 2020 targets," Amber Rudd tells MPs

Ombudsman's report highlights poor complaints handling as biggest cause of upheld cases in 2014-15

LSE Diplomacy Commission warns over lack of joined-up foreign policy strategy – and says Foreign Office must do more to promote "family-friendly" career paths

Public Accounts Committee criticises HMRC over customer service, compliance and tackling aggressive tax planning – while HMRC says MPs have "overlooked" its achievements

Report by the National Audit Office spending watchdog finds that charity received £46m of public funding over 15 years

DWP perm sec heaps praise on the department's operations team for finding efficiencies, while acknowledging staff can't "just pedal faster forever"

Official who raised value for money concerns over further funding for the charity to face questions from the Public Accounts Committee

New diagnostic tool from the Institute for Government aims to help officials assess viability of public service markets