Francis Maude on plans for 'more flexible' civil service

Cabinet Secretary Francis Maude has outlined reforms to the civil service, which he called the first step in a process of continuous improvements.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Maude said the civil service has to be ''faster, more flexible, more innovative and more accountable''.

He added that the reforms were not an attack on the civil service, but that the demand for change came from civil servants themselves.