IfG Events

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event On 3 November 2020, US citizens will elect their next president. The result will have bearings not only on the US, but also on the rest of the world. This event explored what the US election will mean for the UK–US special relationship, the prospects for a future trade deal and joint action on the global stage. Panellists: Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood MP, C...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event   The UK Internal Market Bill has sparked controversy on multiple fronts. It has wide-ranging implications for devolution, placing constraints on the exercise of devolved policy powers. The UK government argues it is simply replacing frameworks that existed in EU law, while the Scottish and Welsh government have argued that the bill is a “power grab”...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event   The UK’s policing and intelligence communities cooperate closely with their EU counterparts, sharing intelligence and collaborating on cross border investigations to fight crime and tackle terrorism. This event considered the implications of Brexit for this cooperation, including the impact on data-sharing and the UK’s use of the European Arrest Wa...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event   As the deadline for reaching a deal with the EU approaches, state aid remains a major obstacle to any future partnership. A recent IfG paper, Beyond State Aid, set out why the UK should adopt a domestic subsidy control regime, deal or no deal. But the government has so far been unwilling to commit to a domestic regime, or to any further commitments...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event   Leaving the EU means the governments of the UK have new freedoms to set standards in areas which have been subject to European rules, including the environment. Such freedom could enable the UK to meet its goal of delivering global leadership on the environment and improve standards (as several governments in the UK have expressed their intention t...

The coronavirus crisis has hit children’s social care. The disruption caused by the lockdown and continuing restrictions has forced social workers to conduct visits with children remotely, local authorities to take a less rigid approach to procurement, and the government to temporarily remove some statutory protections for vulnerable children. The crisis followed a decade of big increases in spend...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event   The Institute for Government has launched a new report on the status of the Sewel convention which sets out eight proposals for how to reform and strengthen the legislative consent process. Under the Sewel convention, the UK parliament does not normally pass legislation on devolved matters without the consent of the institutions in Edinburgh, Cardi...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event   At the end of the year the UK will leave the single market and customs union: goods crossing the border between Great Britain and the EU will be subject to customs formalities for the first time in nearly 30 years, as well as new regulatory checks. The Northern Ireland protocol also means that there will be new rules for goods moving from Great Bri...

Cities around the world are seeing a resurgence in coronavirus cases. Some have had to re-impose lockdowns, including in the UK. This panel event will explore how other countries – and cities in the UK – are dealing with new localised lockdowns, and ask what the UK government can learn from them. Georgina Wright, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government, is in conversation with: Sir Peter...

The Government has endured wide-ranging criticism of its Coronavirus response: from the timing of lockdown and its initial testing capacity to U-turns on quarantine and A-level results, through an ill-fated contact tracing app. How far are these failures explained by the difficulty of making decisions under enormous pressure? Or are they symptoms of deeper, enduring problems with the government ma...

The Government has sparked controversy by introducing the UK Internal Market Bill, which would give ministers the power to break international law in their application of the Northern Ireland protocol, and also has significant implications for devolution and intra-UK trade. What does the Bill do, why does the government think it’s necessary, and how is the EU likely to respond? Why it has upset th...

The Government says the UK will reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. But what does it need to do to meet its target? What would a serious net zero plan look like? How does government need to change to implement one? And, in the week the Climate Assembly launches its findings, how should the public be involved in decisions?    Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the institute for Government i...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. The merger of DfID and the FCO into the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is one of the biggest shake-ups in UK foreign policy in decades. How will it affect future foreign and development policy, particularly in the world of Coronavirus? What are its implications for the aid budget? And how can the new organisation preserve th...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. How have journalists approached reporting on the Government’s response to Coronavirus? Where does the balance lie between reporting the Government’s message and identifying its failings, potentially undermining its effectiveness? How have journalists coped with the logistics of reporting under lockdown? And what is changing now we are in phase two,...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. Negotiations with the EU are far from over. The UK and the EU may or may not reach a deal by the end of the year, and key issues on state aid and fisheries are yet to be resolved.   Both sides also need to implement the Withdrawal Agreement in full. During the Article 50 negotiations, Parliament played a prominent role in debating – and voting on –...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. Michael Gove has called for Government decision-makers to be spread across the country, from Mansfield to Middlesbrough to Merthyr Tydfil. He won’t be the first to have tried to move policy makers out of London. So why have past efforts not worked as hoped? What can the Government do differently this time? And will shifting Civil Servants around the...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. Jonathan Slater, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education and Head of the Policy Profession, talks to Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. We would like to thank Oracle for kindly sponsoring this event. #IfGcivilservice See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. How should the Civil Service measure performance – of individuals and of work programmes? What is the role of the Treasury and how can it get better at it? What data does should government be collecting and how can it best use it? Does the Civil Service need to get better at evaluation?   Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Governm...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. How can the Civil Service recruit, retain and reward the right people? What needs to change on pay and opportunities for promotion to reduce staff turnover? What skills and expertise do civil servants need? What type of quantitative skills should the Civil Service develop and where do they need to be deployed? What are the barriers to recruiting and...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. What makes this round of Civil Service reform different from efforts that have gone before? What’s missing from the plans and where is this government getting it wrong? The Government’s targets aren’t new, so why do the same issues keep coming up? How do you actually get the Civil Service to change? And what can government learn from past rounds of ...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. Former Health and Foreign Secretary JEREMY HUNT talks to Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. From the earliest stages of the Coronavirus pandemic Jeremy Hunt, Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, has raised concerns about the Government’s response. What are the global consequences of Coronavirus, what lessons c...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. Special advisers play an essential role throughout government, but is their role about to change? With the government altering the way that “SPADs” are employed and organised, and the extent to which they report to Number 10, special advisers could find themselves under increased scrutiny. Tim Durrant, Associate Director at the Institute for Governm...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer ANNELIESE DODDS MP joins IfG Director Bronwen Maddox to discuss the government’s economic response to Coronavirus, the implications of Rishi Sunak’s emergency fiscal measures, and what should be done to help businesses and individuals as the furlough scheme and lockdown come to an end. Plus, how have Labour’s econo...

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. With the Government adamant that the UK will not seek to extend transition from EU trading arrangements, it is more important than ever that businesses are prepared for a dramatic change in trading conditions. However with many firms reeling from the economic effects of lockdown, preparing for the end of the year will be a tall order. Ongoing uncert...

Ministers returned to Stormont in January 2020 after three years during which the Northern Ireland assembly did not sit, there was no executive and the NI Civil Service ran Northern Ireland while policy problems piled up. The new power-sharing executive has had to confront those problems, implement the findings of the inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal, prepare for the implementatio...