Why Andy Burnham and Manchester council leader want the UK to follow in Germany's footsteps Local leaders will be making their case at Convention of the North Manchester Evening News · Jan 25, 2023
What would a genuine plan for levelling up the north of England look like? Ask a German They have laws requiring equality between the states and a funding regime to make it happen. Imagine that kind of Britain, says Manchester mayor Andy Burnham The Guardian - UK · Jan 25, 2023
Councils forced to freeze levelling up projects as soaring costs exceed grants Exclusive: Half a billion pounds lost from projects funded by government schemes due to inflation and rising costs The Guardian - UK · Jan 24, 2023
Ethical values must be integral to Whitehall, says standards watchdog The Committee on Standards in Public Life says too often it takes a crisis before authorities act. The Independent UK · Jan 24, 2023
Whitehall watchdog to investigate appointment of BBC chairman amid Johnson claim The public appointments commissioner has intervened amid concerns over Richard Sharp’s role helping Boris Johnson secure a loan. The Independent UK · Jan 23, 2023
Revealed: The Whitehall tax sleuth who made Nadhim Zahawi pay £5m ‘He is a cross between Martin Lewis and Sherlock Holmes,’ an ex-colleague says The Independent UK · Jan 23, 2023
Read Nadhim Zahawi’s response to The Independent over tax allegations in full Rishi Sunak facing calls to sack Conservative Party chairman The Independent UK · Jan 23, 2023
New railway line, cycle routes and historic buildings share £208 million in UK Government Levelling Up funds A total of 11 projects are receiving funds, but the Welsh Government has said Wales is still £1.1bn short of what it used to receive from the EU Wales Online · Jan 18, 2023
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
Loopholes let ex-advisers 'fly under the radar' as most get jobs as 'shadow lobbyists' More than half of the 521 Special Advisers who left Whitehall between 1997 and 2017 got jobs in advocacy or lobbying for corporate firms or interest groups Daily Mirror · Jan 14, 2023
Revealed: cabinet split over NHS pay disputes piles pressure on Sunak Health secretary Steve Barclay urges unions to lobby PM over improved pay offer for striking nurses and ambulance workers The Guardian - UK · Jan 14, 2023
Greater Manchester could get more powers to help people off benefits and into work Labour wants to give mayors like Andy Burnham more control over vital employment support schemes Manchester Evening News · Jan 13, 2023
Daily Mirror · Jan 9, 2023 Dominic Raab's department blows £320,000 on PR advisers The Ministry of Justice, which is led by the Deputy Prime Minister, has brought in marketing experts from outside Whitehall. The MOJ insisted it was ‘a contract for advertising prison officer jobs'
The Guardian - UK · Jan 7, 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
Daily Mirror · Dec 29, 2022 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
Wales Online · 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
The Independent UK · 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.
Liverpool Echo · Dec 29, 2022 Everything that's happened since commissioners came to Liverpool Council The Government appointed officials are halfway through their three year stay
Evening Standard · Dec 20, 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.
The Guardian - UK · Dec 19, 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 18, 2022 Rishi Sunak to meet UK troops in Estonia and attend Baltic summit UK prime minister joins Nordic and Baltic leaders at summit on countering Russian aggression
The Guardian - UK · Dec 18, 2022 Barclay expected to urge fresh talks aimed at ending health strikes RCN says talks must take place this week or more strikes will be tabled for new year, as ambulance staff prepare to walk out
The Guardian - UK · Dec 16, 2022 Dominic Raab’s MoJ hiring ‘embarrassing’ number of private office staff Exclusive: Plan to recruit up to 10 people into senior roles seen as unusual and follows reports of bullying in the department