Ifg Events Podcast

The Institute for Government was delighted to launch its tenth edition of Whitehall Monitor – our annual, data-driven assessment of the UK civil service, how it has changed and performed, and its priorities for the future. How did the civil service deal with the partygate affair? What is the impact of disputes over pay and the workforce? And how have officials coped with two changes of prime minister and record-breaking levels of ministerial turnover? As well as assessing the challenges of the last year, the report looks ahead to the civil service’s priorities in 2023. How can departments manage increasingly tight budgets? What are the next steps for government reform agenda? And given the political turmoil and shock events of 2022, how can the civil service improve its ability to manage the long-term capability of government? Rhys Clyne, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government, presented the findings of this year’s Whitehall Monitor and was joined on the panel by: Dame Una O'Brien, former Per

The Institute for Government has launched IfG Academy to give ministers, civil servants and people working in and around government the knowledge and skills they need to improve government effectiveness. There is currently little in the way of formal training for people who take on government roles. From first-time ministers to those promoted to cabinet, and from non-executive directors to special advisers, many people in government are expected to learn on the job. There is not much in the way of support to help people get up to speed, learn the inner workings of Whitehall and develop in their role. So what more could be done to change the culture and practice of support for those in government? Why has it been so difficult to reform the current approach? And how is IfG Academy going to fill the gap? To discuss these questions and more, the IfG brought together an expert panel including: Tim Durrant, Associate Director at the Institute for Government David Gauke, former Secretary of State for Just

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve. Data Bites aims to change that. Our latest event, the 37th in our series, was a social mobility special. The Social Mobility Commission presented its new report on data gaps across government and the impact that has on its work, complemented by other speakers on social mobility and missing data. Each speaker has eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speakers were: Oliver Anderson, Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) Strategic Analysis Lead at the Department for Education, on post-16 education and labour market activities and outcomes Alun Francis OBE, Interim Chair of the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) and Principal and Chief Executive of Oldham College, on the SMC's recently published data gaps report Michael Pandazis, Head of Evidence for the Social Mobility Commission, on the

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem’s Chief Executive Officer, for a briefing on the energy market, energy bills and a look ahead to what the coming year will mean for consumers across the UK. The event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government, with an opening address from Jonathan Brearley followed by a Q&A. Ofgem is the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. It is a non-ministerial government department and an independent National Regulatory Authority. Jonathan Brearley became Ofgem's Chief Executive Officer on 3 February 2020. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/jonathan-brearley-ofgem

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was a live recording of the IfG’s weekly podcast. Speakers: Dan Snow, Historian, author, TV presenter and host of the HistoryHit podcast Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government This event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. Speakers included: Councillor Ben Bradley MP, Member of Parliament for Mansfield and Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of the North of Tyne Seb Payne, Director of Onward Jennifer Williams, Northern England correspondent at the Financial Times This event was chaired by Akash Paun, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was a keynote speech by Lisa Nandy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. After her speech, Lisa Nandy was in conversation with Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government, and took questions from the audience.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was an IfG expert briefing. Speakers included: Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government Jess Sargeant, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government This session was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was a keynote speech by Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Leader of the House of Commons. After her speech, Penny Mordaunt was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director at the Institute for Government, and took questions from the audience.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This second session discussed whether the civil service needed to reset, regroup or reform in 2023. Speakers: Stephen Bush, Associate Editor and columnist at the Financial Times Munira Mirza, former Head of No.10 Policy Unit, and Chief Executive of Civic Future Antonia Romeo, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice This session was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This first session included an introduction from Dr Hannah White OBE, IfG Director, and Government 2023: the challenges of the year ahead. In her introduction to the conference, Hannah set out the Institute’s priorities for 2023 and explained how the IfG is working to make government more effective. Plus opening remarks from Grant Thornton UK. Speakers included: Sam Freedman, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Ayesha Hazarika, Times Radio presenter and former Labour adviser Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Rt Hon Chloe Smith MP, Member of Parliament for Norwi

Identifying, attracting, developing and deploying the right skills across the public sector workforce is critical to the success of all governments. But the civil service still has trouble planning the skills it requires, understanding the skills its officials already have, and developing the right skills and knowledge in the right places. In 2021, the Johnson administration’s Declaration on Government Reform described plans to “invest in training to equip our people with the skills and knowledge they need to tackle the challenges of the future”. As restrained public spending raises questions over whether and how skills reform and provision will be resourced in future years, the panel will discuss what civil servants’ and ministers’ priorities should be for improving the skills moving forward. This event, supported by Workday, convened an expert panel to discuss the progress made, and lessons learned, on government skills in recent years: Zamila Bunglawala, former International Director at the Department

Both the Covid pandemic and recent extreme weather events, such as Storm Arwen-Franklin and the summer heatwaves, exposed flaws with the way the UK government prepares for long-term risks as well as vulnerabilities in communities and public services hit by crisis. The Covid Inquiry has begun to examine how the UK could be better prepared for future pandemics, while the government is in final stages of developing a new National Resilience Strategy. But what lessons should be learned from the pandemic? What should be at the forefront of the new government strategy? And what steps could the government take to boost the UK's resilience? To discuss how the UK can be better prepared for long-term risks, the Institute for Government was delighted to host an expert panel including: Mike Adamson, Chief Executive of the British Red Cross Fleur Anderson MP, Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Sophie Dannreuther, Director of the Centre for Long-Term Resilience Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin, former Chancellor of the Duchy of L

The House of Lords is back in the spotlight. Boris Johnson’s resignation honours have reignited debates about the appointment process and the ability of politicians to hand life peerages to their friends, supporters and donors. Key figures across Westminster have called for stronger independent oversight of the appointment process. Labour Leader Keir Starmer has gone further, committing to replacing the House of Lords with an elected chamber if he wins the next general election, informed by the work of former prime minister Gordon Brown’s constitutional commission. However, as past governments have discovered, how to reform the second chamber is the cause of intense disagreement. Who should replace the current membership? What should be the role of a second chamber? What are the risks involved in embarking on major constitutional change – and are the knock-on impacts clearly understood? This event – part of the IfG Bennett Institute Review of the UK Constitution – will explore current proposals for reformin

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve.   At our latest event, the 36th in our series, where the speakers will present their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker has eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience.   December's speakers were:  Ishraq Irteza, Deployment Strategist at Palantir Technologies, on the use of data in the Homes for Ukraine scheme Chris Pope, Principal for Research covering Digital, and Information Strategy at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on data for local areas Tom Smith, Director of the Spatial Data Unit and Chief Data Officer, at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on data for levelling up Liz Zeidler, Chief Executive, at the Centre for Thriving Places The event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Associate at the Institute for Government. We would like to thank Palantir for

The UK is one of the most centralised advanced economies, and there is widespread agreement that further devolution is necessary if the economic performance of regions outside of London and the south east is to be improved. The Levelling Up the United Kingdom white paper contained ambitious devolution proposals, including the commitment that by 2030 “every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution and a simplified long-term funding settlement”. It also contains a devolution framework which clarifies the powers available to local areas depending on the governance model adopted. However, devolution invariably brings trade-offs; it takes a certain capacity to deliver interventions correctly, these might increase costs by adding another layer of administration, and undermine efforts to produce a nationally consistent approach. This event will discuss what powers should be devolved for local areas to play their part in boosting regiona

What can be done to create a nation that is better adapted and resilient to the changing climate? How does climate adaptation and resilience support a growing economy? And what can be done to ensure this generation is the first to leave the environment in a better state than we found it? From responding to flood risk to managing industry and waste, the Environment Agency is at the heart of all these questions. In a keynote address at the IfG, Sir James Bevan discussed the bold action needed to meet current and future environmental challenges faced by the UK. The chief executive of the Environment Agency, the UK’s environment regulator, Sir James also discuss the agency’s work in tackling flooding, drought, sea level rise and coastal, and how he believes the UK can become a nation that is resilient to climate change while encouraging green growth and a sustainable future. After his speech, Sir James was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director at the Institute for Government, and took questions from t

The government’s ability to quickly and effectively procure goods and services was a critical part of the UK’s response to coronavirus. Whether goods like PPE or services such as testing facilities, the government handed out large contracts, often to new suppliers, at greater speed and with less competition than normal. The government was faced with difficult choices, and no easy options, raising questions about the decisions made and improvements that could be made in the future. At this event, an expert panel discussed: How effective were government changes to procurement guidance? Did the government strike the right balance between urgency and due process? What lessons can be learned from the success of the approach to procurement taken by the Vaccine Taskforce? How can the lessons from the pandemic be applied to future crises and the government’s Procurement Bill? To discuss these issues we were joined by: Sarah Ashley, Partner at Baringa Steve Bates, Chief Executive Officer of BioIndustry Association

There are well over 300 public bodies in the UK, ranging from NHS England to small advisory bodies. Government has announced plans to create several new public bodies in the coming years, including the Future Systems Operator, the Office for Local Government and Great British Railways. However, while there are strict guidelines on the circumstances in which a body can be created, there is less guidance on how to establish one effectively. This event explored how new bodies can establish effective operations and a strong reputation in their sector, to ensure they stand the test of time and are respected by new administrations. It brought together practitioners and experts on public bodies, particularly economic and trade bodies, to discuss the lessons from their experience of setting up new public bodies: Oliver Griffiths, CEO of the Trade Remedies Authority Sian Jones, Value for Money Director at the National Audit Office Alex Massey, Partner in Deloitte’s human capital practice Kate McGavin, Policy

Following a turbulent two months in politics, policy and financial markets, on 17 November Jeremy Hunt presented the government’s autumn statement, alongside a new set of fiscal and economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The following day the IfG hosted an event to react to the chancellor’s statement. We were delighted that to be joined by Ben Chu, Economics Editor at BBC Newsnight, and Richard Hughes, Chair of the OBR, to discuss: What the new forecasts reveal about the outlook for the government, households and public services. What choices has Rishi Sunak made to help restore fiscal sustainability and credibility? Has it worked and will the government be able to deliver it all? What have the events of the past two months taught us about the importance and strength of the institutions at the heart of fiscal policy making – including the relationship between the OBR, the Treasury and ministers? Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government, and Dr Gemma Tetlow