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Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude wants the Fast Stream programme to be halved to two years, but plans have been delayed because departments are pushing for a compromise, CSW has learned.

An academy to develop project leadership skills among senior officials, launched this week by Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, will become a model for addressing skills gaps across government, according to head of the civil service Sir Bob Kerslake.

Treasury chief secretary Danny Alexander has ordered a review into the salary arrangements for “all senior consultancy appointments” after the revelation Ed Lester, chief executive at the Student Loans Company (SLC), was paid through a consultancy firm in order to reduce tax on his salary package.

The civil service trade unions are appealing against a High Court ruling that upholds the legality of the government’s decision to link public sector pensions to the CPI measure of inflation rather than the more generous RPI measure.

Civil service leaders should take more risks when making promotions to bring a wider range of skills into senior teams, environment permanent secretary Bronwyn Hill has said.

Which exclusive club contains the PM, the chancellor, the leader of the opposition and the shadow chancellor, the business secretary and, via its affiliated European arm, the deputy prime minister? Some may think of the freemasons, but others will identify a far more shadowy and secretive bunch: special advisers.

Here CSW profiles a publicity-shy group who are crucial to shaping policy – and now, it seems, to providing our political leaders.