Wonder if a relatively small increase in local government spending on gritting this week would have lead to NHS savings from fewer A+E attendances with falls yesterday? Potentially an example of the benefits of a more place-based approach to funding public services www.thetimes.com/uk/weather/a...

Foster carers could be exempt from paying council tax in the future, if North Devon Council gets its way. www.devonlive.com/news/devon-n...

Got 2 minutes? Tell us how we can improve our yearly deep dive into public services

Actions fall short of ambition in the government’s new homelessness strategy The government has set broadly the right destination for the homelessness system, but the changes it aren’t enough proposes to get it there, says @amberdellar.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

NEW report from @nehaldavison.bsky.social and I. Why have successive governments failed to tackle persistent inequalities in early years outcomes? We set out 5 systemic policy making failures that lead to some children being 'left behind'. 🧵⬇️ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

NEW IfG verdict on the child poverty strategy from me and @amberdellar.bsky.social A critical package for the govt, but it needs: - stronger powers/accountability in DWP to lead it - much more robust support for LAs - earlier monitoring/evaluation www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/chil...

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

Schools lack resources needed to help keep children with SEND in school, meaning too many are leaving when it could be avoided, according to a new Ofsted report

Homelessness strategy now out - calling it A National Plan to End Homelessness certainly shows the right level of ambition www.gov.uk/government/p...

Big story from @lydiach.bsky.social - buried in Treasury documents, the government confirms it intends to allocate disadvantage funding to schools based on income data, not free school meals eligibility. It follows criticism that FSM is a poor proxy for poverty

Really interesting report, demonstrating the sheer lack of data that special schools and AP settings have about their pupils - a massive barrier to service delivery and coordination Almost a third of AP settings can only give an estimate for the number of pupils on their roll

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...

The government’s decision to delay mayoral elections cannot be justified on democratic or fairness grounds Our IfG devolution experts react to the announcement that May 2026 elections for new mayors will be postponed to 2028 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

The Government’s Child Poverty Strategy published today is the first we’ve seen for 11 years – which in itself is a sea change. 🧵 👇

If you’re looking for a tl;dr of how the government is doing on public services, this fab line from @amberdellar.bsky.social does the job nicely:

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

Demanding collaboration between health and education services is often not enough to make it happen, especially when the system is so stretched Building supply-side capacity is vital, as is aligning incentives/funding between delivery partners

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

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.

So the £6bn SEND budget blackhole predicted by the OBR for 2028-29 is a 'matter for the next spending review', Phillipson has told Parliament This is due in 2027, and as set out earlier this year, will review budgets set at the latest SR in June for 28-29 and 29-30 Still, cutting it fine...

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

My latest on the gov's proposal to all-but abolish jury trials: a radical move that would leave us out-of-step with most democracies and increase the risk of miscarriages of justice. 🧵 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/david-lammy-...

Investigation: Dozens of councils do not hold data on how many home-educated children are subject to child protection enquiries – suggesting many authorities are underprepared for new duties to protect vulnerable children schoolsweek.co.uk/safeguarding...

As the covid inquiry gears up for Module 9 on economic policy, @gemmatetlow.bsky.social and I have a new @ukri.org-funded @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report out on Epi-econ modelling for pandemics. We set out why govt needs to invest now 1/🧵 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

My final guest blog for @russellwebster.com! So far, I've covered policing, criminal courts and prisons. But what about the broader picture? How are other public services performing, what does that mean for criminal justice, and how well have Labour done in their first year and a half?

Attention is on NEETs today, but the problem is much worse. NEETs include stay-at-home parents & jobseekers. Strip those out to focus on people not working, not seeking work, not in education & not parenting: this group of economically & socially dislocated young adults has *doubled* in a decade.

New comment from us on the six big things we at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk will be looking out for at next week's budget

Gov just published a new list cabinet committees. In short, looks like (1) big vote of confidence in Darren Jones from the PM, (2) existing missions + immigration are top of the government's agenda, (3) PM wants things to happen faster, and (4) Rayner's priorities perhaps no longer front of mind?🧵

New data shows 40% of 19 to 21 year-old care leavers were not in employment, education or training in March this year (15,000 young people). For all 19 to 21 year-olds, that figure is estimated at 15%.

A chart that surprised me: NHS staff absences for mental health reasons are at record highs, above pandemic levels Absences for that reason have grown far faster than the combination of other reasons since 2016 Staff were absent for 1.4% of all working days for mental health reasons in YE May 2025

NEW: Report from me and @nehaldavison.bsky.social on how and why boys from low-income families get left behind in their early years 🧵⬇️ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

With a week to go until the budget, here is the IfG's view on what to watch On public services, we'll be looking to see: - How the inflation forecast changes real terms spending - More details on govt's reform agenda - Further efficiency drives www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Lack of planning has hit Labour’s efforts to fix public services, says thinktank. Great summary of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's analysis by @kiranstacey.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

This post from DfE is going down like a sack of spuds. Many teachers replying with their experience from the frontline right now…

NEW: Labour inherited public services in crisis. Performance had fallen, investment had been cut + spending plans were undeliverable. It's made some progress, providing stability and positive long-term plans. But it has been undermined by poor prep in opposition and lack of co-ordination in govt 🧵

This is really part of a longer story about the ONS, and the picture we have (or don't) of the state and society. The move from International Passenger Surveys to DWP data should improve our understanding of what Brits are doing at least.

Buckle up for tomorrow's packed schedule‼️ Starting with: How successfully have Labour run public services? @cassiarowland.bsky.social @amberdellar.bsky.social @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social @njdavies.bsky.social @markwfranks.bsky.social 🎟️ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/labour...

Education Support's Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 reveals an education workforce in crisis with staff wellbeing at its lowest level since 2019. 📘Download the full report, with recommendations for change: bit.ly/43cYK30 #TWIX2025 @edsupportuk.bsky.social

Our contribution to ongoing debates on the reform of children's social care @hscwru.bsky.social No quick fixes: Multi-agency working to improve information-sharing on men and keep children safe url: academic.oup.com/bjsw/article...

💸 A school has been refused permission to cut its intake by a quarter despite estimates of a 'catastrophic' £2 million deficit after the local authority opposed the plans

In other news look at councils projected cumulative deficit just on special needs costs over the next few years. Yikes.

NEW REPORT: the govt has been running the NHS in England for 16 months So how are they doing? Tl;dr there are some signs of progress, but the overall approach to reforming the service has been chaotic, with little coherence between policies 🧵👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Guardian’s top story is @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social’s analysis of NHS performance, the latest release from Public Service Performance Tracker 2025. There are some positives from past years but these risk being undermined by loss of GP partners, social care failures and chaotic approach to reform

Empty classrooms present government with a challenge and an opportunity The government needs to show strategic direction on school places, says @amberdellar.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/empt...

It was fascinating to work on this research with @hopenothate.org.uk. All political parties are coalitions of voters with different preferences, but current supporters of Reform are especially disparate. The big question is how long Farage can keep them all on side.

'Cornwall council offered suppliers £6m to staff illegal children’s homes' This might be a new low in terms of normalising children living in unlawful settings, but unfortunately, it really shouldn't come as a surprise

Empty classrooms present government with a challenge and an opportunity Some strategic direction would help to ease two mounting pressures - the shortage of places in special schools and the surplus in mainstream schools

There's no-one I trust more on contemporary housing policy than @peteapps.bsky.social. This is an important read: 'The new social housing programme looks more and more like a genuine step forward'. open.substack.com/pub/peteapps...

It's regression, isn't it? Regression in a trench coat, regression with a fake moustache, regression speaking ze french wiz a bit of ho-hee-hon, but still regression

Come join us next Monday for a conversation about all things fast stream!