-
1 week ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Dave Penman |Tevye Markson
The Spending Review was the moment when we saw the colour of the new government’s money.
Maybe it’s because I’m a bit closer to it, but I felt a little underwhelmed. These are normally big bangs in the political and fiscal calendar but, probably because so much had been drip fed over the last few weeks and months, it felt more of a whimper. It was, however, very familiar.
-
3 weeks ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Beckie Smith |Dave Penman
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has launched a new inquiry into propriety and ethics in government.
The committee will use the inquiry to examine the progress made so far on the government’s manifesto commitments to raise standards of ethics and integrity in government and to restore trust between the public and politics.
These include setting up an ethics and integrity commission with an independent chair “to ensure probity in government”.
-
Mar 10, 2025 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Dave Penman |Tevye Markson
The government’s announcement in October that it was maintaining the 60% office-attendance mandate was as disappointing as it was evidence free. There was no consultation with unions, which is a pity, as we were in the middle of analysing our biggest-ever survey of members – over 7,000 – on the issue of hybrid working.
The response rate itself should tell you something about the concerns civil servants have over the approach of successive governments.
-
Mar 10, 2025 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Dave Penman |Tevye Markson
The government’s announcement in October that it was maintaining the 60% office-attendance mandate was as disappointing as it was evidence free. There was no consultation with unions, which is a pity, as we were in the middle of analysing our biggest-ever survey of members – over 7,000 – on the issue of hybrid working.
The response rate itself should tell you something about the concerns civil servants have over the approach of successive governments.
-
Mar 4, 2025 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Dave Penman |Jim Dunton
No civil servant who has endured the last decade can come away from that experience without being a little bit scarred. They’ve witnessed governments who have played fast and loose with our constitution (proroguing parliament), the rule of law (in a limited and specific way) as well as the relentless attacks on the civil service, its values and any number of individual civil servants.
-
Jan 17, 2025 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Dave Penman |Jess Bowie |Jim Dunton
A New Year heralds a new cabinet secretary and head of the civil service. Welcome, Chris, all is fine.
It says a lot about the past few years that the most experienced permanent secretary didn’t appear on many people’s lists for top pick as Simon Case’s replacement. A job that used to be defined as being in the shadows has in recent times been a very public one, through necessity rather than choice, I would suggest. Events have thrust the role and its occupants into the limelight.
-
Dec 10, 2024 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Tevye Markson |Dave Penman
The prime minister has written to civil servants, pledging that his cabinet will provide the leadership officials need to deliver and urging them to “feel emboldened” to “upset the apple cart”.
In a letter sent to civil servants this morning and seen by CSW, Keir Starmer praised officials’ “dedication, professionalism and strong sense of public service”, but said they face “too many obstacles”.
-
Dec 10, 2024 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Dave Penman |Tevye Markson
Bathgate is a small town in West Lothian. It’s one of those that’s not really known for one big thing. The world's oldest known reptile fossil, Westlothiana lizziae, was discovered in a local quarry. It’s had steel making, quarries, car plants and even mobile phone factories. Most are long gone. Its famous former sons and daughters include motorsport’s Paul Di Resta and Dario Franchitti; it was even home to Hollywood’s Isla Fisher in her youth.
-
Nov 19, 2024 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Steve Thomas |Dave Penman
Everyone likes a good piece of pantomime this time of year, but the opinion piece by Andrew Moretta recently published in Civil Service World painting Prospect and our colleagues at the FDA as “ugly sisters” and telling us what we think really didn’t fill me with a feeling of solidarity. To put it another way, it did rather feel that that the author was doing all he could to engineer the fear that “he’s behind you”.
-
Nov 12, 2024 | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton |Dave Penman
Whitehall needs a massive influx of special advisers to give ministers the advice and support they need – and bring the UK government into line with global counterparts, according to a new report by think tank Reform.
The paper says the roughly 100 spads who work in the UK government is just a fraction of the 600 politically appointed staff in the Canadian government, while France has around 500 and Australia 400.
