The Latest Breaking News from Whitehall

Levelling Up: Mapped - how much cash is being allocated to each area of the UK

The successful bids announced today follows the allocation of £1.7bn to 105 projects in the UK from round one of the Levelling Up Fund in 2021

Manchester Evening News · Jan 18, 2023

‘Unacceptable’ vetting delays hampering national security, says watchdog

The National Audit Office said ‘meaningful reform’ at UK Security Vetting is essential.

The Independent UK · Jan 18, 2023

Redistributing power is only route out of national malaise – Nandy

Labour has promised to replace the Government’s levelling up missions with more ‘tangible’ targets.

The Independent UK · Jan 17, 2023

Atom Valley: Andy Burnham’s vision for regenerating Greater Manchester

The regional mayor has taken levelling up into his own hands with the ‘nuclear option’ of a hi-tech manufacturing hub named for the city’s role in splitting the atom

The Guardian - UK · Jan 7, 2023

Tories give civil servants £30m vouchers from Argos to Primark - but no proper pay rise

The use of 'reward and recognition' vouchers for civil servants has surged as Tories dig in and refuse to negotiate a proper pay rise for staff, despite inflation soaring

Daily Mirror · Dec 29, 2022

Civil servants paid nearly £30 million in high-street vouchers despite pay freeze

Ministers have been accused of getting around their own pay freeze by handing out the vouchers, while refusing to discuss pay for nurses

Wales Online · Dec 29, 2022

Civil servants paid nearly £30 million in high-street vouchers amid pay freeze

A third more ‘reward and recognition’ vouchers were distributed in 2021-22 than in 2020-21 and two thirds more than in 2018-19.

The Independent UK · Dec 29, 2022

Everything that's happened since commissioners came to Liverpool Council

The Government appointed officials are halfway through their three year stay

Liverpool Echo · Dec 29, 2022

Taking on the nurses is like punching David Attenborough — a truly awful look

Life inside a Whitehall department can be comically slow and sober — it makes a municipal library seem like the Berghain. When I worked in the Treasury yonks ago, the sleepy gentility of the place used to drive me a bit loopy.

Evening Standard · Dec 20, 2022

Sunak’s review of aid for Ukraine suggests cracks appearing in UK policy

The PM seems unwilling to deliver the big uplift in military help Kyiv needs to get ready for a possible Russian offensive

The Guardian - UK · Dec 19, 2022