Some welcome urgency from government on getting water infrastructure built as quickly as possible - which is crucial in the context of an increasing demand shortfall, as I explored in a blog for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk last month www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/inde...

Thames Water has been fined its biggest penalty so far by the water industry regulator Ofwat But what is Ofwat and how does it function? Read our full explainer: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/of...

Monday's announcement puts government at risk of cutting quango numbers for its own sake. But efficiency, accountability, and freeing up ministers to focus on the big picture are what really matter, and there are better ways to achieve these things. My latest for @instituteforgov.bsky.social:

The passage of Labour's Tobacco and Vapes bill has been plain sailing so far. But history shows the success of anti-smoking policy hinges on cross-party (& public) buy-in, which the govt must not take for granted - certainly not now. My latest for @instituteforgov.bsky.social 👇

In a big day for government reviews at the IfG - a new blog from me about Sir Jon Cunliffe's Independent Water Commission. I explore why was it set up, what it is doing, and what this all has to do with 'terrible Tuesday'... www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/inde...

NEW REPORT from @jillongovt.bsky.social and I on how government should set up and run independent policy reviews to help deliver reforms. We looked back at previous reviews, and spoke to former reviewers to get their reflections and advice (1/12) www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Interested in making government more effective? Applications for our 2025–26 research internship programme, starting in September 2025, are now open. Closing date: Tuesday 29 April, 11:00 ⏰ Find out more: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/car...

Planning reform given big emphasis in Rachel Reeves' statement today, including key measures from last week's Planning and Infrastructure Bill. For a breakdown of 5 major changes, check out this recent blog from @sophiemetcalfe.bsky.social and me www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/five...

Some more detailed thoughts on the regulatory action plan published last week...

1/ Today’s policy paper from HMT on regulation and growth is welcome: www.gov.uk/government/n.... In the main, it grips the need to prioritise growth in an energetic but proportionate way. Nonetheless, implementation of some proposals will be difficult and there are some pitfalls to avoid.

📣New report from me & @brionya.bsky.social MCAs’ decision-making is often limited by unanimous voting rules Effective decision making for key strategic plans requires a shift to simple majority voting alongside greater capacity and accountability www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

In light of today's announcement - this chart gives some context on how NHS England accounts for almost half of government's total spending on ALBs, and how increases to its budget have been the main driver for the overall increase in funding for ALBs in recent years.

Reports by @drmatthewgill.bsky.social - our @instituteforgov.bsky.social expert on all things public bodies - are must reads right now… 👇

Can AI transform civil service productivity? How would you cut the administrative costs of regulation by 25%? And what would that mean for arachnids in Ebbsfleet? Join us to discuss these - and other themes from Keir Starmer's speech - at lunchtime today!

While we all speculate about what exactly the PM will say tomorrow and what the balance between ministers, depts and public bodies should be over policy decisions, I thought I'd have a look through the @instituteforgov.bsky.social's interviews with former ministers to see what they have to say...

The National Wealth Fund is a key part of the govt's plans to address chronic underinvestment in the UK and stimulate growth. But what is it, and how does it work? An explainer: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/na...

Following a great IfG event yesterday on the government's clean power targets, a new explainer by me on the role of the National Energy System Operator (NESO)⚡ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/na...

The Commissioner for Public Appointment's report for 2023-24 has now been published. It's a shame to see that delays to appointment processes got even worse, with only 13% concluding within the recommended timeframe of 3 months. publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/u...

More Whitehall Monitor findings! For the first time since 2022 we put together a chapter on arm's-length bodies for WM2025 (published yesterday) - thanks to the Cabinet Office's publication of the 2023 public bodies dataset at the end of last year.

Some key takeaways from our chapter on AI, digital and data in Whitehall Monitor 2025 [🧵]:

The latest edition of our annual Whitehall Monitor report is out today. How has the civil service changed in the last year? And how does it still need to change to deliver on the government’s missions? Quick 🧵 on some of our findings on churn and diversity 1/8

The long, albeit slow, increase in workforce and budgets of Arms Length Bodies underpins a democratic deficit. If Ministers will ultimately be held accountable, they should take more responsibility for managing core functions of government directly.

On staffing more widely, we have data on arm’s-length body staff numbers for the first time in several years This chart from @shivanichivukula.bsky.social shows what the drivers behind increasing ALB staff numbers are

It was great to contribute to the final two chapters of the report: one on the ALB landscape, and one on AI, digital and data in the civil service. The latter in particular was a very new area of research for this ex-classicist and I had fun writing it with my colleague @jordanurban.bsky.social

Government 2025: IfG's annual conference 📅 Tuesday 21 January To kick off the new year, we will bring together influential speakers and experts to explore the key questions for government in 2025. Register to attend online www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

Yesterday the Cabinet Office public bodies team published their 2022/23 ALB report. It's a really interesting and well-visualised piece of work. Check it out here: co-public-bodies.github.io/ALB_Landscap...

New report from @drmatthewgill.bsky.social on how to set up public bodies well www.theguardian.com/politics/202...