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...

Decided to write out my thoughts on this for @instituteforgov.bsky.social on why tightly ringenced funding with onerous reporting requirements for ministerial pet projects is a drain on local and central government and can drive the wrong incentives www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/poth...

NEW report from me and @nehaldavison.bsky.social on school readiness: - Who is most at risk of not being school ready? - What does this mean for the govt's opportunities mission? Is the target for 75% of children to be 'school ready' helpful? 🧵⬇️ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

My latest for @instituteforgov.bsky.social makes the case for chancellor Rachel Reeves to do nothing at the Spring Statement, even if she is on course to miss her fiscal rules by a small margin. 1/3

I'd love to see Rachel Reeves launch a fundamental review of the tax system - to make it more efficient/fairer/growth enhancing and just decide that she might as well use her economics background to deliver a legacy of real improvement - even if it doesn't poll well straight away.

A very big week for @instituteforgov.bsky.social and our Inside Briefing pod. We’re recording in Hull now and our instalment featuring the PM will land in your podcast feeds tonight.

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.

For some context on the relative sizes of NHSE and DHSC, this chart is helpful Bit out of date, but NHSE is a very large organisation ~17.5k in May 2023 and has shrunk since then. Will be interesting to see how many of those staff come into the department

There's a decent case for scrapping NHS England but doing so is a major change programme that will take up substantial ministerial and official time. Hard to see how govt can do this while also making good progress on meeting the 18 week target AND the three shifts ahead of the next election

The PM’s speech this morning didn’t have much detail on system-wide civil service reform – despite some welcome pitch rolling by McFadden over the weekend. But for what it’s worth, here’s my initial take on what was in there on civil service reform 🧵 (1/6)

The prime minister is expected to announce plans to cut back regulation. Our explainer takes a closer look at what regulation actually is, how it is used and carried out, and what are the alternatives to regulation www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/re...

For the first time, half of all ministers are women and more women now attend cabinet than ever before – To celebrate international women’s day we've taken a deep dive into the @instituteforgov.bsky.social Ministers Reflect archive to share some insights from women who served in government ... 🧵

Starmer's cut to the aid budget means a really tough set of choices ahead for foreign office ministers - they will need to be very clear on what they're cutting (and not fudge the trade-offs) www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/anne...

There will be more debate this time on the 7th Carbon Budget recommendations from @thecccuk.bsky.social . @rosahodgkin.bsky.social and I think that's a good thing @instituteforgov.bsky.social - www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/seve...

Interim report out today from the Sentencing Review is bang on – not often you get the chance to say that! Prison population has risen because of "inconsistent, ill-considered and knee jerk sentencing reform implemented by successive governments". www.gov.uk/government/p...

My first piece for @instituteforgov.bsky.social - it's still far too hard for civil servants to tackle poor performance, but a new framework changes the incentives (a little) in favour of better people management, and that is a good thing. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/new-...

Really interesting piece from @gemmatetlow.bsky.social Tax reliefs sound boring but are really important - became mildly obsessed with this while looking at the tax system and net zero a couple of years ago (where reliefs are part of what makes the system very incoherent)

Continuing the government's recent roll on planning announcements today we have one on nuclear☢️ Definitely not nuclear experts so apologies for any errors but some thoughts on the govt side…

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...

Still time to sign up to watch this event online - starting in 20 mins and should be very interesting for all civil service types (and everyone, of course)

We @instituteforgov.bsky.social are doing a new project looking at how to help officials make better policy under pressure 💨 If you have experience of fast policymaking please give our survey a look and share your insights! Should take a maximum of 10mins to fill out

TOMORROW: How can the government accelerate its clean power mission? Don't miss our event exploring Labour's progress on decarbonising power by 2030 and the potential pitfalls. @rosahodgkin.bsky.social @chrisstark.bsky.social @dharavyas.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

Can a new Heathrow runway meet both the government’s growth and climate goals? Transparency is vital if the government is to make the case for it, say @tompope.bsky.social and @rosahodgkin.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/new-...

This collection of interviews with former ministers - and 3 former FMs - in devolved administrations offers a window into decision making within and across the nations. From Brexit and covid to the collapse of the Bute House Agreement, these are well worth a read.

EVENT: How can the government accelerate its clean power mission? 🗓️Tuesday 4 Feb, 12:30 Hear from @rosahodgkin.bsky.social @chrisstark.bsky.social @dharavyas.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social on how Labour can achieve its clean power commitments www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

EVENT: The future of the Civil Service Policy Profession 🗓️ Thursday 6 Feb, 10:00 Register to hear Tamara Finkelstein, Aaron Maniam, Lord Vallance discuss the Policy Profession and how to embed professional expertise in the policy-making process www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/civil-...

Our Government 2025 annual conference is underway. We're discussing how Labour has performed since returning to government, and what challenges – and opportunities – await in 2025. Tune in live now www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

Interesting language from Minister Fahnbulleh in response to a PQ about the Clean Heat Market Mechanism. Describes this as the "first baselining year" - suggesting (entirely reasonably) that there's a degree of fine-tuning that will need to follow. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...

Today @instituteforgov.bsky.social have, alongside, PA Consulting, published Whitehall Monitor 2025, a review of where the civil service and Whitehall stand now. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk I led on analysis of departmental spending. A few interesting charts/insights: 1/8

📢 Today at @instituteforgov.bsky.social we've published Whitehall Monitor 2025 - the 12th edition of our data-driven assessment of the UK civil service. It's been great to partner on the report with PA Consulting. Read the full report here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

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

🚨New elective waiting list data out today - the first after the govt announced its elective reform programme The number of cases dropped by 61k, bringing the total length of the waiting list to 7.48m That's the third consecutive month with a fall More data below👇

EVENT: How can the government accelerate its clean power mission? 🗓️ Tuesday 4 February, 12:30–13:30 Join us in person or online with @rosahodgkin.bsky.social @chrisstark.bsky.social @dharavyas.bsky.social and @jillongovt.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

Top blog by my colleague @gemmatetlow.bsky.social @instituteforgov.bsky.social on how the govt's tangle over IHT on farms is complicated by its failure to be clear about the purpose of its reform www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/agri...

Fantastic opportunity to join the @instituteforgov.bsky.social as a researcher - please flag to all the brilliant people you know! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/car...

Good good

The government has promised to create A LOT of new public bodies. But it isn't that easy... As today's new @instituteforgov.bsky.social report out - and tracker - reveals. Great @theguardian.com write-up by Rowena Mason www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

What! Another starter pack! I know… but I haven’t seen one yet on the civil service. And with the cabinet secretary appointment imminent, and lots else to discuss, it seems a good time to get civil servicing Here’s a first run through. Plenty to add - please share suggestions go.bsky.app/PFA8PcZ

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill has passed the Commons stage and is now waiting for its second reading in the Lords to be scheduled. But what lessons can the government learn from past Lords reform attempts? @nehaldavison.bsky.social and I look at successive attempts in a new comment.

NEW REPORT: What does the budget mean for the NHS? The chancellor announced £22bn of extra day-to-day funding for the service in 2024/25 and 2025/26, ~4% per year real terms increases Is that enough to improve performance? 🧵👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

NEW REPORT: What does the budget mean for local government? On the face of it, local government (LG) was a relative winner of the budget. But there are 4 important caveats... 🧵 below www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

There's been talk again of a royal commission on social care [cue collective groan from policy wonks] Like many I agree a royal commission would be a waste of time. BUT I do think there could be value in an inquiry modelled on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards Short 🧵below:

My first comment with @nehaldavison.bsky.social and the @instituteforgov.bsky.social policy making team is out! This forms part of series on how the government can learn lessons from past policy to turn their manifesto promises into tangible results.

Got a bit lost given what else happened on Tuesday but NESO's advice to government on the clean power mission was interesting! tinyurl.com/5ecvkvdr

New Ministers Reflect interviews definitely worth a read - particularly the bits on sure start, really interesting on the challenges of cross-government policymaking!

The Chancellor's changes to the fiscal framework could genuinely help set this government up for success Great comment from @gemmatetlow.bsky.social setting out what has changed (there's more than just a new measure of debt), why it matters for good policy making and some of the remaining risks

New comment: The chancellor must reform spending reviews to ensure mission success It's all about that base(line)... Specifically, robust + realistic estimates of how much ongoing policy will cost. And having this inform negotiations + decisions www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/chan...

The next cabinet secretary will be appointed in the coming weeks - I’ve set out what I think awaits the successful candidate, and what they should prioritise Here’s some pre-budget/US election/Tory leadership reading www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Great piece by @jillongovt.bsky.social on how David Gauke can give his sentencing review the best chance of being implemented. Lots of helpful lessons from the Pensions Commission, easily the most successful independent review of recent decades www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/davi...

EVENT: How can the government effectively roll out EV charging infrastructure? 🗓️ Tuesday 22 October, 1pm Explore the barriers to EV uptake with Lilian Greenwood MP, @rosahodgkin.bsky.social, Ian Howells, Bharat Pathania, @nehaldavison.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...