Happy unprecedented wave of super-flu season to those who fabulate.

PODCAST 🎙️ 2025 in review: Starmer's year of drama The IfG team and the FT's @chris-smyth.bsky.social pick out the big moments of the last 12 months – the big political developments, and the key appointments that could shape the year ahead www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

🆕 More people are seeking help for common mental health conditions, as well as for ADHD and autism, but are more people experiencing mental ill health? @sarahscobie.bsky.social takes a closer look. www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/the...

Have you ever read the Public Services Performance Tracker published by @instituteforgovernment.org.uk? If so, we’d love to hear from you. We’re surveying readers to find out what is most useful and what we should prioritise next year. It will only take around 5 mins to complete

Last month we published our public services Performance Tracker 2025 We're looking for feedback! If you've read the report, then we'd love to hear how you think we can improve it for next year It shouldn't take more than 2 minutes to fill out the survey www.surveymonkey.com/r/S33HJPY

The government is following through on its pledge to rebalance funding to the places that need it most, writes @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social. Though, with limited funding, it has required the government to make tough decisions about who loses www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/delivering-r...

In this week’s Week in Public Services, I look at resident doctor strikes, the new child poverty strategy, extra funding for domestic abuse support and what jury trial reforms would really do to court backlogs. Some key takeaways below medium.com/week-in-publ...

📝Our new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report with @jackpannell.bsky.social & @emmanorris.bsky.social out today sets out out the underlying problems with the way public inquiries are established We argue ministers need better support to make informed decisions about how an inquiry should be set up

1/ The latest ONS data on public sector employment shows that the civil service has grown (again). After 2 consecutive quarters of plateauing growth, the CS grew in Q3 by 3490 (0.6%) to 520440 FTE. This is the highest quarterly increase since Labour came to power. @instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Exhibit #457 that Reform has broken its pledge to find "wasteful" council spending Cllrs in Worcestershire have asked for permission to raise council tax by 10% (rather than default maximum of 5%) to close their budget gap They are also asking for emergency funding www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The child poverty strategy represents a concrete shift to prevention, but as always, the devil is in the detail. @sophiemetcalfe.bsky.social and I go into that detail in our new comment: - On coordinating multiple departments - Ensuring local partners have the right support - Monitoring progress

Given the govt's comittment to a) shift care from treatment to prevention and b) shift spending away from hospitals, its hard to justify the decision to keep spending on public health flat for the next three years when the NHS will see real terms spending growth

Excited to publish our latest batch of Ministers Reflect interviews! We spoke with former health secretary and chancellor Sajid Javid, former Wales secretary and chief whip Simon Hart, and former Defra secretary Theresa Villiers. Some highlights… www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-re...

It was great speaking to Sajid Javid as part of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Ministers Reflect series A few quotes that stood out to me "The world of business is black and white - you need to make money" "Politics is anything but black and white. It's all grey. Even success and failure is grey"

A strong OBR is in everyone’s interests Replacing Richard Hughes with someone seen as more compliant to the government’s views would undermine the OBR's independence, bringing a high cost to government and the country, says @gemmatetlow.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/stro...

NEW: Hospital productivity growth is beating the government’s targets. So why hasn't the NHS made more progress on cutting elective waiting times? In a new @theifs.bsky.social comment, we examine what’s driving the divergence between two of the government’s biggest NHS priorities. 1/11

WEBINAR | How can the government make a success of the abolition of NHS England? This webinar will explore the risks and opportunities associated with abolishing NHS England. @markgdayan.bsky.social @sjanereed.bsky.social @nuffieldtrust.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

The NHS section of Performance Tracker 2025 by @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social is live on the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's website, with new analysis on general practice and hospital performance in England. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

The @instituteforgovernment.org.uk’s Week in Public Services blog is back! This week I looked at the Budget’s place-based budget pilots, jury trial restrictions, and Ofsted’s concerns on children’s social care. Some thoughts below. medium.com/week-in-publ...

15% of local authority run primary schools were in debt in 23/24, compared to 8% in 18/19 Our analysis suggests that the rise in unfilled primary places accounts for nearly two-fifths of that increase

Our recent work supports this, the number of net joiners to the NHS from outside the UK and EEA has collapsed since 2024 It's happened among both hospital doctors and nurses, but the fall has been much sharper for nurses. On current trends, it wouldn't be surprising to see a net outflow soon

Last week the Chancellor announced a central government takeover of special educational needs deficits. I write about the potential impacts of this move on SEND reform, including on governance of the system, local innovation and trust

This is an interesting piece. Analysis we've done support some of the findings First, staff absences are higher on average in trusts that serve more deprived populations, and the effect is larger for mental health absences than for other conditions

Completely agree with Ben here. The NHS press release is even weirder, describing the NHS as "under siege" from these minor conditions Shows a complete unwillingness in the NHS to engage with the actual reasons for long A&E waiting times

A slice of positive budget news last week was some important improvements to the spending framework I've written about how the Office for Value for Money helped drive this, and why I think others in government could learn from its unusual set-up www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/offi...

In my Budget chat for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk I flatteringly compared it to a complex artwork you must spend hours with to see all the details www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/offi... The work of the OfVFM provides an example: @drbenpaxton.bsky.social explains why it is good.

Short 🧵on a strange trend in NHS data that I found This chart shows change in NHS elective cases completed by the independent sector since 2019 Independent sector usage increased everywhere But London is a jaw-dropper: activity almost *doubled* with a huge recent rise. What's going on?

Some further clarification over where money to cover SEND costs will *not* be coming from in 2028/29, in case DfE's punchy blog last week (see screenshot) was not clear enough Still a lack of clarity over where the money will in fact come from

NEW REPORT: abolishing NHS England could help simplify accountability, improve prioritisation and create savings. But the change could also lead to increases in policy incoherence and blame culture, as well as the loss of skills, capacity and focus on areas outside the day-to-day NHS.

The latest Public Services Performance Tracker from @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on the NHS is long but well worth a read. It is full for good skeptical analysis and some absolute crackers. Some quotes below: ...

We've responded to reports that the NHS will pay a higher price for branded new medicines as a condition of a UK-US trade deal. Read the statement from @sallygainsbury.bsky.social 👇

Feel like I'm going mad. The Budget's 'headroom' is based on frankly irresponsible and wildly optimistic claims about what Labour will do in the final year of the forecast, and on ignoring a bunch of upward pressures on spending, and the claim is that she was being exaggeratedly *pessimistic*?

Mostly, I wish govt better communicated the trade offs. Voters want lower immigration? Ok, it means: - not helping people from Ukraine and Hong Kong - higher taxes to pay British carers more - higher uni fees/grants to keep HE afloat Instead govt makes incompatible promises which infuriates voters

Agree with every word of this We've gone from 9% of social care staff coming from outside the UK and EEA in 2021/22 to almost 25% in 2024/25 The govt has no near-term replacement It means either: 1) staffing shortages or 2) councils spending far more to attract staff, with no extra funding

The government *did do* what was right for the country - and what its MPs believed was right: lifting 450,000 children out of poverty. Politics isn’t just polling or tactics. It’s using power to advance your values. The government acted on its values and improved opportunities for ~ 1.6m children.

Proposed changes to spending controls are incredibly positive. As @instituteforgovernment.org.uk has previously noted, the cumulative complexity of controls muddies accountability, makes govt a worse customer, and wastes time and money. We asked govt to review and that's exactly what they've done

"Either damaging cuts to unprotected services or fictitious spending numbers" Read @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social verdict on today's budget and what it means for public services on our live blog www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/au...

Key chart for public services Govt is back to pencilling in undeliverable plans to hit its fiscal rules After taking out likely funding for protected areas, other departments will have to absorb 3.3% annual real terms cuts. That includes prisons, courts, and local govt, among others

The Public Services Performance Tracker is regularly described as ‘sobering’ but this is definitely the first time we’ve had ‘almost lyrical’ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Great Guardian editorial that draws on our Performance Tracker findings for local government And completely agree with the last line: "True renewal will require the fiscal headroom to allow local govt to expand its gaze beyond crisis management" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

✂️One to watch - will Rachel Reeves promise unspecified spending cuts for back end of parliament, in what could be election year?

It's Budget Day - follow my fantastic @instituteforgovernment.org.uk colleagues @gemmatetlow.bsky.social, @danhaile.bsky.social, @drbenpaxton.bsky.social, @philipnye.bsky.social, @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social and others for all the latest! And check out their live blog here for in-depth analysis:

It feels like budget has been going for weeks but a good live-blog starts the day before. Lots from @instituteforgovernment.org.uk before the big day ▪️What has govt already announced? ▪️Will they change fiscal strategy? ▪️What to look out for on tax? www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/au...

In a new departure, we @instituteforgovernment.org.uk are going to be live blogging the Budget all through tomorrow. The live blog is now live and we will be sharing our pre-Budget thoughts there, followed by responses once we hear the CX's speech www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/au...

Another great edition of @hpiandycowper.bsky.social's newsletter. This week it features the Covid inquiry, @instituteforgovernment.org.uk analysis of the NHS, and the brutal PAC report on reducing elective waiting times www.healthpolicyinsight.com/cowpers-cut-...

Reform UK claim to have saved £331m at English councils – but do the numbers stack up?

Roemer's law in action? Or simply evidence that we need more beds?

New paper, 'Ministers reflect on the Treasury' from @paddy-mcalary.bsky.social and me for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk. Pre-budget, we've compiled insights from 10 years of Ministers Reflect interviews, plus rex from the IfG catalogue on HMT. Favourite quotes to follow! 1/🧵 tinyurl.com/38anhkc7

One of my favourite charts from this year's Performance Tracker Each dot shows a trust's bed occupancy in a given month What's notable is how little variation there is across the country and across time Go into any hospital in any month and you will find almost every bed is occupied