The Civil Service World Podcast

What does great citizen experience look like at scale? In this episode of  It’s Personal , Claire Walsh and John Swift from HMRC’s Customer Experience Directorate join Jess and Jo to explore how the department is learning from industry and mapping customer journeys to improve services. They discuss how you measure success, bring colleagues with you when you’re on a transformation journey, and buil...

Catherine Day spent 25 years as a civil servant, including a posting as the UK's spokesperson in Iran and senior posts in No.10, Cabinet Office and the FCDO advising ministers and senior officials on national strategy, security and reform. In 2023 she left, convinced that our governance system is broken, and that it cannot be fixed from within. In this episode, Catherine talks to Suzannah Brec...

In the latest episode of It's Personal, created in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson continue their exploration of what makes great public services in the digital era. One in three chest X-rays in the NHS is now reviewed with the support of AI – but what does that actually mean for patients? In this episode, we speak to Rob Dale, Head of AI Diagnostics and Implementation Lead fo...

As cross-sector research shows rising levels of abuse towards customer-facing staff, this episode explores how one of government’s largest operational departments is protecting its frontline officials – while also improving services for citizens. We’re joined by Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services and chief customer officer, who explains the kind of abuse frontline civil se...

In the latest episode of It's Personal, created in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson continue their exploration of what makes great public services in the digital era. Sunderland was named the UK's smartest city in 2024 – but what does that actually mean for the people who live there? In this episode, we sit down with Liz St Louis, Director of Smart Cities and Enabling Servi...

The government spends nearly £430 billion a year on public procurement, or around 15% of GDP.  In this episode Suzannah Brecknell speaks to Rikesh Shah, chair of the Innovation Procurement Empowerment Centre, about how government can use procurement as a genuine strategic lever for innovation – and why that's a challenge for the whole civil service, not just procurement teams. Rikesh sets out...

The Chancellor has said she wants to build an active and strategic state that drives investment-led growth across the whole of the UK. But is the wiring in place to make that happen? In this episode, recorded at the Connected Places Summit in London, Suzannah Brecknell speaks to Alan Welby, managing director for built environment and local growth at the Connected Places Catapult, about what it wil...

From October, the UK takes on the chair of the Open Government Partnership, a global network of over 70 countries committed to more transparent, accountable and participatory government. In this episode Suzannah Brecknell speaks to Kevin Keith, chair of the UK Open Government Network and the UK Multi-Stakeholder Forum, about how the civil service can make the most of this moment. From the lessons...

Why is it so hard to do government well – and who’s trying to change that? In this episode Suzannah Brecknell speaks to Derek Alton, founder of Civic Punks and former public servant, about his global quest to find the people who are building the future of government. The conversation explores why governments struggle to adapt at the pace they need to, what history and even ecology can teach us abo...

The latest Civil Service World Podcast discusses the extraordinary week we've just seen in Westminster and Whitehall. CSW's editors-in-chief Jess and Suzannah are joined by Hannah Keenan from the Institute for Government to reflect on the sacking of cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald, the unprecedented nature of the situation - given how recently Wormald was appointed, and the impact of t...

In this episode, we speak to Megan Lee Devlin – DG for Service Transformation at the Ministry of Justice – about practical, responsible AI adoption in government. Megan shares how she uses AI day-to-day, from making the most of the general tools licenced by her department to the no-code tools built by civil servants themselves. She also tells us about bespoke, large-scale tools like Justice Transc...

In episode four of It's Personal, created in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson continue their exploration of what makes great public services in the digital era. In one way or another, HM Revenue and Customs touches the lives of almost every adult in the UK. In this episode, we sit down with Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services, to hear about the challenge...

In this episode we speak to Heidi Edwards, assistant head of AI skills and talent at the Defence AI Centre in the Ministry of Defence, to find out how a new way of learning is helping to grow AI skills across all parts of the MoD. We also discuss what an AI ready workforce would look like in terms of skills, culture and leadership with Heidi and Olivia Lory Kay, director of workforce development a...

We're doing things a bit differently this episode. Instead of interviewing a senior civil servant, we're pulling back the curtain and giving listeners an all-access look at how we put together the current issue of Civil Service World. We hear from three members of Team CSW - Tevye Markson, Susan Allott and Beckie Smith - about the features they worked on and who they enjoyed interviewing,...

In this episode we explore how learning is changing across government. Our panel discuss the pressures facing departments, the opportunities that new approaches can bring, and the lessons organisations can take from recent examples. Our guests are Mike Zealley, managing director, learning services at KPMG, Louise Scott-Worrall UK head of learning services at KPMG and Tamsin Cooper, managing direct...

In episode three of It's Personal, created in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson continue their exploration of what makes great public services in the digital era. Jess and Jo hear first from three citizens, some of whom have seen an improvement in public services, others who have been let down. Our main interview this episode is with Kate Caulkin, a former senior civil servant a...

Suzannah Brecknell sits down with Sherin Aminossehe - director of growth and missions at the Ministry of Defence, talented artist, and author of a new book celebrating British railways. They discuss Sherin's career spanning both public and private sectors, the lockdown challenge which inspired her first book, her earliest memories of making art, and the importance of buildings in creating communit...

In this episode we meet Sam Rose, a leader in data science, advanced analytics and AI in the Department for Transport, to find out more about the holistic approach the DfT is taking towards AI adoption. We hear how officials are using behavioural science techniques to map opportunities, evaluate interventions and understand what an AI-ready department would look like. Hosted by Suzannah Brecknell,...

In episode two of this new series, created in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson continue exploring what makes great public services in the digital era. Today we hear from the senior civil servant Matt Briggs. Matt recently joined the MoJ on short-term loan, but in this episode we discussed his work as head of DWP's Service Modernisation Programme, and how he's helping to bui...

In this episode - part of our CSW events series - we are reflecting on Labour’s first year in government and the tangible impacts of its mission-driven approach on the civil service. Suzannah, Joe and Grace find reasons to be optimistic along with many causes of frustration, and share their views on how ministers and the civil service can drive more radical change in the next four years. Hosted by...

In this episode - part of our CSW events series - Jess Bowie chairs a discussion reflecting on government's efforts to implement productivity improvements, highlighting both successes and failures in the ongoing pursuit of better services for citizens. Featuring Kate Caulkin, director of people and operational management insights at the NAO; Katherine Kent, head of public services productivity...

In this episode Jess Bowie talks to Tom Brown, author of The Mind of the Minister , about the unique relationship between senior civil servants and politicians. Tom explains how officials and ministers can build close and productive working relationships, what happens when it all goes wrong, and what he's observed about relations between civil servants and Labour ministers a year into the new gove...

In the first of a new series, in partnership with KPMG, Jess Bowie and Jo Thomson explore what makes great public services in the digital era. In this episode Jess and Jo share some of their own experiences of interacting with the state, we hear from former HMRC permanent secretary Jim Harra about how the UK's tax authority has been putting citizens at the heart of its services, and we discuss...

All government departments have been tasked with prioritising AI adoption to drive innovation and improve productivity, but with only 22% leveraging automation and 17% using machine learning, AI uptake remains in its infancy. In this episode, a panel of government and industry leadersshare insights on overcoming common roadblocks on the path to AI transformation, such as budget constraints, outdat...

Reoffending costs the economy £18bn annually so finding innovative solutions is critical. In this episode, CSW brings together a panel of experts from across the prisons and rehabilitation landscape to discuss new approaches that can achieve meaningful change. Hosted by Jessica Bowie.