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Governance & Government Intervention

Standard-setters: today’s approach to standards and accreditation

In an era of self-regulation and earned recognition, public servants must adapt their approach to setting standards and using accreditation. A new Standards and Accreditation Handbook is now available for […]

Court ruling: key Northern Ireland decisions must await new power-sharing executive

Civil servants in Northern Ireland did not have the power to grant planning permission for the construction of an incinerator by council waste management coalition arc21, the Court of Appeal […]

Civil service ‘audit’ heralds clear-out in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s new President, Julius Maada Bio, has launched an audit of the African country’s civil service in a bid to stamp out political patronage, corruption and waste. The President, […]

Catalan officials detained in referendum crackdown

Spanish police have detained 14 Catalan officials and raided more than 20 regional ministries in a bid to stop a planned independence referendum. Thousands of protesters took to the streets […]

Strict new anti-graft code for European commissioners

The president of the European Commission has tightened up the code of conduct for its officials, in a bid to raise ethical standards and police the border between lobbyists and […]

John Kingman, champion of HM Treasury’s supply-side activism, warns of Brexit threat

The former second permanent secretary at the UK Treasury last week mounted a passionate defence of its activist micro-economic policies – now under threat in Westminster’s shifting political landscape. Matt […]

Robert Beschel, global lead, Center of Government Practice, World Bank: Exclusive Interview

Robert Beschel has spent two decades at the World Bank, leading various public sector improvement programmes. He tells Winnie Agbonlahor why attention is now focusing on the very heart of […]

World Bank to offer free online course on good governance

The World Bank has teamed up with a number of research institutes to offer a free online course on the governance of natural resources. Starting in September, the course will […]

Think tank has cross-party backing but some of its ideas are ‘incompatible with the law’

Radical proposals to reshape the British civil service have been deemed unlawful by the independent body overseeing civil service appointments. New think tank GovernUp, which launched a set of wide-ranging […]

UK ‘almost most centralised developed country’, says Treasury chief

The UK is “almost the most centralised developed country in the world”, UK government finance chief Sharon White has told a public debate. Speaking at an event organised by a […]