Sir Chris Wormald introduces the 22nd edition of Civil Service Quarterly. The lead item is a new interview with Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service Sir Mark Sedwill, while other articles focus on subjects ranging from the National Security Council, a decade after its creation, to how UK Research and Innovation is changing the way research is funded.
Data science is an emerging discipline which combines analysis, programming and business knowledge and uses new and advanced techniques and technologies to work with complex data. Jonathan Athow, John Lord and Claire Potter, from Knowledge Analysis and Intelligence at HMRC, explain how HMRC are making better use of data to tackle non-compliance.
In less than 12 months, 97% of Syria’s declared chemical weapons programme has been destroyed. Ben Merrick, Head of Arms Control and Proliferation in the Ministry of Defence, explains how outstanding cross-governmental co-operation made this possible.
The decline in young people studying languages at university could have serious implications for GCHQ, and its ability to protect the UK from international threats. The organisation’s language analysts are striving to combat this by inspiring school pupils to learn some of the most needed languages.
Welcome to the seventh edition of Civil Service Quarterly. At the start of a new year, we’re looking ahead. In this edition we examine some of the tools and techniques that can help us excel as civil servants. Within the …
Crime in general has fallen, but thieves are still targeting mobile phones. The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) has
developed a risk index to keep consumers informed and even prevent crimes before they happen. Simon Ruda, Ed Bradon and David Halpern from BIT show us how they did it.
When Sarasa Poduval was seconded to China, she became the first Department of Health civil servant ever to be seconded outside Europe. She is now Second Secretary, Health and Social Care in the British Embassy Beijing. She writes about what her adventure has taught her about China, the NHS and the importance of keeping your links back home.
The Blue Book from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) describes economic activity in the UK. This year, for the first time, it will include spending on prostitution and drugs. Peter Patterson, the Deputy Chief Economic Advisor at the ONS, describes how they calculate the figures in the Blue Book and what they mean for the UK economy.
Spending money on public services requires tough decisions and a robust understanding of the costs and benefits. Cody Xuereb, Economic Adviser at the Department for Communities and Local Government and Rory Moody, Policy Adviser at the Cabinet Office, explain how a suite of new tools can help.
The Public Bodies Reform Programme will reduce government administration costs by more than £2.6bn. One of the bodies transferred to the voluntary sector under the programme was the Canal & River Trust. Its chairman Tony Hales and Peter Unwin, Director General at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), describe the challenges and benefits of turning a national treasure into a charitable trust.
In the last issue of CSQ, Sir David Normington reviewed The Blunders of Our Governments. John Manzoni the new Chief Executive of the Civil Service wrote this article when he was the head of the Major Projects Authority. It discusses what the organisation is doing to prevent such blunders and improving how projects are run.
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