Institute for Government

The energy crisis – deepened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – has raised questions about the UK’s energy transition, including about affordability and security of supply.  How would a Labour government shift the UK to a net zero energy system? Our panel included Bill Esterson, Shadow Minister for Business and Industry; Sam Alvis, Head of Economy at Green Alliance; Sue Ferns, Deputy General Secret...

The UK government has promised further devolution to England’s cities and counties as part of its levelling up agenda, and wants metro mayors to play a leading role in closing regional economic and social disparities.   Is devolution the answer to tackling England’s regional inequality? How can local decision making lead to better outcomes? And what should be Labour’s distinct vision for generatin...

Coronavirus has placed a huge strain on the criminal justice system, with policing made more challenging, a huge growth in crown court backlogs, and prisons unable to deliver many rehabilitative services. But many problems predated the pandemic and must also be addressed. At the Labour Party Conference we explored how Labour would deliver a justice system that works for everyone. Our panel with Se...

Wes Streeting MP, Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, delivers a keynote speech on how Labour would tackle workforce shortages and burnout, backlogs and access to GP appointments. The event was followed by a discussion with Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and REAL Centre at The Health Foundation and Emma Norris, IfG Director of Research. This event was recorded at the 2022 Labour Par...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Michael Cockerell, the BBC broadcaster and political journalist whose award-winning political documentaries have taken viewers behind the scenes of British politics for nearly half a century. He has interviewed a dozen prime ministers from Macmillan to Johnson, and made films about leading politicians including Roy Jenkins, Enoch Powell Denis H...

The collapse of Carillion was driven by the reckless behaviour of the company’s directors, but the impact of its collapse on the public sector was also down to the government’s approach to outsourcing. Ministers have admitted that approach had often been flawed, and that the system of checks and balances had not worked. Four years on, and as the government seeks to make wholesale changes to procur...

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 this month's event, the 33rd in our series, 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. This month's spe...

Diversity and inclusion are a key part of the discussion about how to run effective public services. The Cabinet Office's ‘Declaration on Government Reform’ reinforced the need for the civil service to draw on a more diverse range of experiences, skills and backgrounds, and set the standard for inclusive workplaces where people achieve their full potential. The new prime minister will need to make...

After a frenetic summer, the new prime minister will arrive in Downing Street with a busy in-tray. From looming energy price rises to wider pressures on the cost of living, from backlogs in the NHS to questions over cleaning up government, Liz Truss will take over on 6 September with barely time to draw breath. At this event, IfG experts will explore the big questions facing the next occupant of N...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Dame Dr Jenny Harries OBE, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency. After serving as the UK’s deputy Chief Medical Officer during the pandemic, Dr Harries took on leadership of the new UK Health Security Agency in April 2021. In conversation with Dr Matthew Gill, Programme Director at the Institute for Government, she discussed her vis...

Better use of data is key to more effective public administration, and the justice system is no exception. At this month's special event, the 32nd in our series, speakers working in the justice system responded to new public attitudes research commissioned by The Legal Education Foundation in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from...

Modelling and forecasting played a prominent role in the way policies were designed and decisions were made during the coronavirus pandemic. But the government’s handling of the crisis raised questions about how modelling - epidemiological and economic – was used by ministers. So how should models be produced and used within government? How should they be communicated to the public? And how well e...

From housing to aviation, the digital economy to patient safety, ministers have a huge range of responsibilities. Yet little is known about how different ministers approach their roles and the reasons for these differences. How do ministers make decisions? How do they work with the civil service and devise policy? And how do they manage their teams? Dr John Boswell and Dr Jessica Smith of the Univ...

Levelling up means boosting economic growth in the UK’s under-performing areas. So how can the government achieve this aim? Ministers emphasise the need to create new manufacturing jobs. But from law and accountancy to retail and hospitality, the UK economy is predominantly services-based – with many high value services jobs concentrated in the South East. So how can the services sector contribute...

The Institute for Government was delighted to host an event with the Office for Budget Responsibility to discuss their new Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report. While the economic shocks of the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been huge, there are many other factors likely to change the shape of the UK state and the demands placed on it in future. Some – such as the ageing of...

As she prepares to step down as Director of the Institute for Government, Bronwen Maddox gave a valedictory lecture. Her six years at the IfG have seen two general elections, three prime ministers and, in Brexit and the Covid pandemic, two of the biggest peacetime challenges ever faced by governments in this country. In her speech, Bronwen reflected on what is wrong with British government – and w...

Restoring Faith in Politics James Brokenshire served in Theresa May’s cabinet between 2016 and 2019, first as Northern Ireland Secretary and then as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. In memory of James, who died in 2021, the former prime minister delivered a lecture at the Institute for Government reflecting on the theme of public service which was central to his li...

Introductory remarks by Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government Setting out the recommendations of a recent IfG report, Tom Sasse, IfG Associate Director, made the case for reforms such as appointing a dedicated head of policy making in each department, encouraging officials to specialise more in policy areas, and greater co-ordination of cross-departmental policy making. Discussi...

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 this month's event, the 31st in our series, 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. This month's spe...

Welcome by Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Opening remarks from Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Chair of the Institute for Government Alex Thomas, IfG Programme Director, set out a new model which puts the accountability of the civil service in statute to enshrine the civil service’s objective, governance, authority and relationship with ministers and gives the head of the ci...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee. With the NHS facing record waiting lists and workforce problems in the wake of the pandemic, and as the government’s plans to fund social care come under intense scrutiny, the former – and Britain’s longest-serving – health secretary was in conversation with Bronwen Maddo...

The government spends around £300bn a year – a third of all public expenditure – on procurement. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the government has proposed major reforms to the rules governing public sector buying. The government says the new Procurement Bill will create a simpler and more transparent system which makes it easier for SMEs to win contracts and for the government to disqualify...

Equipping the UK workforce with the right skills will be critical to the success of the net zero transition, and the government has committed to reforming the skills system. What should those skills, and reforms, look like? How can the government make sure that the right skills are available in the right place at the right time? And what can it do to ensure that the opportunities of net zero are s...

The new unified Probation Service combined the previously outsourced management of medium- and low-risk offenders with the public sector National Probation Service, which managed high-risk offenders. Launched by the government on 26 June 2021, it was the fourth major restructuring of probation services in 20 years. This involved hundreds of thousands of cases, thousands of staff across hundreds of...

The role of the Lord Chancellor is to protect and uphold the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Yet the position is held by a cabinet minister: the secretary of state for justice. This overlap between the independent judiciary and the political world, and the balance of power between parliament, government and the judiciary, is the source of much debate – and disagreement. So what...