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6 days ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton |Tevye Markson
The civil service leaders’ union the FDA has accused former cabinet minister Sir Ben Wallace of undermining the work of officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office with his comments on the war in Ukraine.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, ex-defence secretary Wallace questioned whether the UK government is weakening its previous stance of opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the surrender of occupied territory.
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6 days ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton
The government’s former lead non-executive director has spoken of his belief that artificial intelligence systems capable of operating with limited human supervision could offer departments productivity savings of 30% or more.
Michael Jary, who was one of the founders of OC&C Strategy Consultants and served as government lead NED from 2022-2024, made his comments about the potential of “agentic AI” at an event hosted by the Institute for Government last week.
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1 week ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton
Home Office permanent secretary Dame Antonia Romeo has told MPs that her department will require a culture change to avoid repeats of the multi-million-pound failings related to asylum accommodation in recent years.
Members of parliament’s Public Accounts Committee today quizzed Romeo about her new department’s acquisition of the Northeye site in East Sussex in 2023.
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1 week ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Sam Trendall |Jim Dunton
The Ministry of Justice is offering a potential six-figure salary for a new group chief technology officer to oversee the IT used by more than 90,000 staff and an annual budget of close to £1bn.
The successful candidate will be expected to deliver the digital and tech strategy for the MoJ and its delivery agencies across the justice system, according to the job advert.
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1 week ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton
UK Trade Remedies Authority: UK Trade Remedies Authority – Jessica Blakely and Carmen Suarez appointed as chief executives from 2 June.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: DCMS Board – Jude Kelly and Janet Pope appointed as non-executive board members for three years until 22 April 2028. Natural History Museum – Kate Robson Brown and Tanuja Randery appointed as trustees four years.
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1 week ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton |Beckie Smith
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has approved the appointment of two new non-executive directors at the Department for Culture Media and Sport – as a report floated the prospect that DCMS could be broken up next month.
On Friday, the department confirmed former Southbank Centre artistic director Jude Kelly and Charities Aid Foundation chair Janet Pope had been appointed to three-year terms as NEDs. Pope will also chair the DCMS Audit and Risk Committee.
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1 week ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton
Members of parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee have gone public with a plea for ministers to supply more funding for their work – and stinging criticism of “continued interference” on the part of the Cabinet Office.
The committee, which is made up of nine MPs and peers, is tasked with oversight of the government’s intelligence and security activities – including MI5, the Secret Intelligence Service and Government Communications Headquarters.
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1 week ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton |Tom Scotson
Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has cast doubt on the connection between longer NHS waiting lists and significant growth in the number of people claiming working-age health benefits.
The study could mean policy pushes to boost economic growth by reducing hospital waiting lists – mooted by both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions – have less chance of success than ministers hope.
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2 weeks ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton |Susan Allott
Two arm’s-length bodies have this week announced that their next chief executives will be job-share appointments.
The Trade Remedies Authority – the UK’s post-Brexit watchdog responsible for investigating alleged unfair trading practices – has unveiled Jessica Blakely and Carmen Suarez as its job-share chief executives. They will take up post at the authority, which is an ALB of the Department for Business and Trade, on 2 June.
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2 weeks ago | 
civilserviceworld.com | Jim Dunton |Tevye Markson
More than 700 staff at energy regulator Ofgem are being balloted over potential strike action after the PCS union accused management of being “deliberately provocative” on pay and job security expectations.
Ofgem, which is overseen by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, had an average of 1,721 employees in the 2023-24 financial year according to its most recent annual report and accounts.
