*Civil service global roundup:* World Bank recommends overhaul in Cyprus and half of Italy's new ministers are women
*Scotland: MPs to examine civil service impartiality ahead of referendum*
Westminster's public administration select committee has launched an inquiry into the role of the civil service in the lead up to the vote on Scottish independence in September.
The inquiry comes after Scottish finance secretary John Swinney complained that advice given to George Osborne from top Treasury civil servant Sir Nicholas Macpherson about a potential currency union had crossed the line of civil service impartiality.
The committee will look into the dual obligations Scottish civil servants have to their ministers and the UK civil service as a whole.
*Cyprus: World Bank recommends overhaul of the civil service*
A report on restructuring public service by the World Bank suggests that Cyprus needs to overhaul civil service pay scales and the evaluation system so that fewer workers can be promoted.
The report found that public sector employees on low salaries receive wages of up to 207% more than their private sector counterparts, while managers and senior officials receive 20% less than corresponding positions in the private sector.
The World Bank said the problem lies in a flawed evaluation system.
*Oman: more than 88% of civil servants now Omanis*
The latest employment figures show that 88.4% of more than 150,000 civil service staff are Omani citizens.
More than 2,700 Omanis replaced expatriates working in the public sector between 2011 and 2013.
The drive to introduce more Omani employees into the public sector has been a challenge because of a lack of qualified graduates in areas such as engineering.
*US: Harvard professor on how to reform the civil service*
In an interview with the Washington Post, Linda Bilmes, a professor at the John F Kennedy school of government at Harvard University, said the US should change how it thinks about public employees, "as treasures, not as costs".
She said managers in federal government do not know how to deal with poor performers and the recruitment system into the civil service "is profoundly in need of reform".
Bilmes also suggested that government needed to do more to boost morale and advance technologically.
*Italy: half of 16 ministers in new government are women*
The new government formed by prime minister Matteo Renzi is younger and more female than ever before – the average age of cabinet ministers is just 48 and half of them are women.
This is despite Italy's high levels of gender inequality and youth unemployment. Italy has a quarter of Europe's 6 million 15- to 24-year-olds who are not in education or employment, and the country's national institute of statistics reported recently that women earn half of what men earn over a lifetime.
• Want your say? Email us at public.leaders@theguardian.com.
*Join the Public Leaders Network** for more comment, analysis and **job opportunities**, direct to your inbox. Follow us on twitter via **@Guardianpublic**.* Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.
*Scotland: MPs to examine civil service impartiality ahead of referendum*
Westminster's public administration select committee has launched an inquiry into the role of the civil service in the lead up to the vote on Scottish independence in September.
The inquiry comes after Scottish finance secretary John Swinney complained that advice given to George Osborne from top Treasury civil servant Sir Nicholas Macpherson about a potential currency union had crossed the line of civil service impartiality.
The committee will look into the dual obligations Scottish civil servants have to their ministers and the UK civil service as a whole.
*Cyprus: World Bank recommends overhaul of the civil service*
A report on restructuring public service by the World Bank suggests that Cyprus needs to overhaul civil service pay scales and the evaluation system so that fewer workers can be promoted.
The report found that public sector employees on low salaries receive wages of up to 207% more than their private sector counterparts, while managers and senior officials receive 20% less than corresponding positions in the private sector.
The World Bank said the problem lies in a flawed evaluation system.
*Oman: more than 88% of civil servants now Omanis*
The latest employment figures show that 88.4% of more than 150,000 civil service staff are Omani citizens.
More than 2,700 Omanis replaced expatriates working in the public sector between 2011 and 2013.
The drive to introduce more Omani employees into the public sector has been a challenge because of a lack of qualified graduates in areas such as engineering.
*US: Harvard professor on how to reform the civil service*
In an interview with the Washington Post, Linda Bilmes, a professor at the John F Kennedy school of government at Harvard University, said the US should change how it thinks about public employees, "as treasures, not as costs".
She said managers in federal government do not know how to deal with poor performers and the recruitment system into the civil service "is profoundly in need of reform".
Bilmes also suggested that government needed to do more to boost morale and advance technologically.
*Italy: half of 16 ministers in new government are women*
The new government formed by prime minister Matteo Renzi is younger and more female than ever before – the average age of cabinet ministers is just 48 and half of them are women.
This is despite Italy's high levels of gender inequality and youth unemployment. Italy has a quarter of Europe's 6 million 15- to 24-year-olds who are not in education or employment, and the country's national institute of statistics reported recently that women earn half of what men earn over a lifetime.
• Want your say? Email us at public.leaders@theguardian.com.
*Join the Public Leaders Network** for more comment, analysis and **job opportunities**, direct to your inbox. Follow us on twitter via **@Guardianpublic**.* Reported by guardian.co.uk 13 hours ago.