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The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence, to discuss his priorities for reforming UK defence.
With war in Europe, instability in the Middle East and a new US administration, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has taken centre stage during the Labour government’s first six months in power. But with increasing threats, how will the MOD ensure it stays ahead of the UK’s adversaries and deliver maximum value for taxpayers? How will it contribute to the government’s missions, particularly economic growth?
Healey opened the event with brief remarks on his defence reform programme, after which he was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government, before taking questions from the audience. -
Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Head of the UK Civil Service Policy Profession, is clear that generalist skills are essential but questions whether it is time to move away from generalists as roles sitting outside of professions.
Tamara set out current plans for the Policy Profession, which provides a professional home and career anchor for former generalists, and how it is providing a framework for building and improving skills. This was followed by a discussion about how to build the skills they need and how to embed professional expertise in the policy-making process.
For this discussion we were delighted to be joined by:
Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at Defra and Head of the Civil Service Policy Profession
Aaron Maniam, Fellow of Practice and Director, Digital Transformation Education at the Blavatnik School of Government
Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation
The panel was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. -
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Decarbonising the power system by 2030 and accelerating to net zero is one of Labour's five key missions. But this extremely ambitious target means moving much faster than the previous government managed. So how much progress has the Labour government already made, and what more could it do to speed up delivery?
The government’s first weeks in office saw it remove restrictions on onshore wind farms and put GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund into motion. So what impact have these actions had? What other steps could the government take to accelerate its missions?
And with controversial announcements such as a third runway at Heathrow, what are the potential pitfalls to look out for, both to achieving the clean power mission and then accelerating to net zero?
To answer these questions and more, this IfG event brought together an expert panel, including:
Rosa Hodgkin, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
Fintan Slye, CEO of the National Energy System Operator
Chris Stark, Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030
Dhara Vyas, CEO of Energy UK
The event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.
This event is part of a research project supported by a grant from the European Climate Foundation. -
Productivity in public services has never been more important. Most services are struggling to return to pre-pandemic performance levels, and the government has indicated that spending will be tight from April 2026 onwards. Improvements in performance will likely come from frontline workers finding new, innovative ways of delivering services.
So what can be done to improve productivity? By highlighting outstanding examples of innovation across public services, Productivity Pitches, a series of events hosted by the IfG, aims to share and support ways to improve performance levels.
This event is the fifth in the series and will focus on schools.
Each speaker has 10 minutes to present their innovation, followed by 10 minutes of audience questions. The chair and a guest from the Productivity Institute – who are kindly supporting this event series – then brought together the common themes from the pitches and discuss the lessons for improving productivity.
The speakers for this edition of Productivity Pitches are:
George Barlow, Principal of Belgrave St. Bartholomew’s Academy on the outcome of providing every pupil and teacher with a tablet.
Steph Hamilton, Director of The Engagement Platform part of the ImpactEd Group which run frequent School Employee surveys that allows schools and MATs to compare their employee satisfaction to peers and use this to improve engagement, satisfaction and retention and Cara Ackroyd, Executive Principal at Outwood Grange Academies Trust. Cara leads on school engagement work across Outwood Grange Academy Trust. The trust have been founding partners of TEP and have integrated the use of the data into their strategy and processes to support outcomes.
Lauren Wilson, Head of Marketing and Communications at The Thinking Schools Academy Trust on consolidating communication and marketing functions. Allowing them to standardise their marketing materials and learn what works before rolling it out further.
The event will be chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. Professor Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust and Policy Advisor at The Productivity Institute Policy Unit joined to discuss the common themes.
Productivity Pitches is kindly supported by The Productivity Institute. -
As Sir Chris Wormald starts his new job as cabinet secretary, two panels – one livestreamed from Singapore – brought together civil service leaders from other countries to explore how they approached the job and what the UK could learn from their experiences.
With:
Pamela Dow, Chief Operating Officer at Civic Future and a former UK civil servant
Leslie Evans, Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government 2015-2021
Martin Fraser, Ambassador of Ireland to the UK, Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach 2011–22
This panel was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. -
Two of England’s elected mayors join an expert panel to explore how well mayors are working with central government – and what powers they need.
- Ben Houchen, Mayor of Tees Valley
- Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands
This panel was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. -
Local government has faced huge financial pressures, leaving residents across England struggling to access services. Featuring presentations from council leaders, this panel explored what can be done to turn around performance.
Presentations from:
- Jenny Rowlands, Chief Executive of Camden Council
- Claire Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Sheffield City Council
Panel:
- Hilary Cottam, author, innovator and change maker and Honorary Professor at the Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL
- Florence Eshalomi MP, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee
- Jim McMahon MP, Minister of State (Minister for Local Government and English Devolution)
This panel was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. -
As the spending review approaches, this session, featuring IfG senior fellow Sam Freedman, explored how the government can best use its missions – and milestones – to shape its spending choices.
- Nehal Davison, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
- Cassia Rowland, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
- Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government
This panel was chaired by Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government. -
This expert panel assessed how Labour has performed since returning to government, and what challenges – and opportunities – await in 2025.
Polling presentation by Joe Twyman, Director of Deltapoll.
- Claire Ainsley, Director of the Project on Center-Left Renewal at the Progressive Policy Institute
- Anushka Asthana, Deputy Political Editor at ITV News
- Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation
This panel was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government. -
- Dr Hannah White OBE, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government
- Phillip Woolley, Partner, Head of Public Sector Consulting at Grant Thornton UK LLP -
What will the return of Donald Trump to the White House mean for Keir Starmer, the government and British politics?
- Mark Landler, London Bureau Chief at The New York Times
- Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, Director, US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House
This panel was chaired by Catherine Haddon, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. -
The government’s devolution white paper – published on 16 December – will set out the detail of Labour’s promised ‘devolution revolution’. Ministers plan to further empower England’s existing 12 metro mayors, to extend devolution to the whole of England, and to reorganise local government.
But what exactly will the white paper commit the government to do? Which powers will be devolved, to where? How will mayors be involved in delivering the government’s growth, energy and public service missions? How will the proposed reforms to local government work? And what challenges lie ahead for the government in implementing this ambitious agenda?
The panel:
Matthew Fright, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
Rebecca McKee, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
Thomas Pope, Deputy Chief Economist at the Institute for Government -
The government has set out its intention to support the civil service with the necessary tools to deliver for the public. As the IfG has argued, reforms to improve the capability of the civil service are needed – particularly in a tight fiscal situation where efficient and effective government is essential. We believe there are a variety of areas for attention. These include reducing staff churn, improving external recruitment, and seizing the opportunities of new technology.
How is the civil service planning to address these questions while supporting the government’s agenda and delivering the prime minister’s promise to build a ‘government of service’? How can issues, like pay and lower morale, be addressed? And what will the civil service look like in 2030?
We were delighted to host Cat Little, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, to discuss these questions and more. She was in conversation with IfG Director and CEO Dr Hannah White. -
The government has set out its intention to support the civil service with the necessary tools to deliver for the public. As the IfG has argued, reforms to improve the capability of the civil service are needed – particularly in a tight fiscal situation where efficient and effective government is essential. We believe there are a variety of areas for attention. These include reducing staff churn, improving external recruitment, and seizing the opportunities of new technology.
How is the civil service planning to address these questions while supporting the government’s agenda and delivering the prime minister’s promise to build a ‘government of service’? How can issues, like pay and lower morale, be addressed? And what will the civil service look like in 2030?
We were delighted to host Cat Little, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, to discuss these questions and more. She was in conversation with IfG Director and CEO Dr Hannah White. -
Following weeks of interviews and much speculation, Sir Chris Wormald has been confirmed as the new cabinet secretary. After a long civil service career, including stints as permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education and Skills, Wormald will succeed Simon Case and begin work as the country's most senior civil servant. Keir Starmer has said that it “will require nothing less than the complete rewiring of the British state to deliver bold and ambitious long-term reforms” – so how can Wormald meet that challenge?
What is the best way for the new cabinet secretary to work with Keir Starmer and other senior ministers? How does a strong cabinet secretary add to the effectiveness of a government? How can Wormald change the way the civil service works so that it can best deliver the government's priorities? What steps can he take to restore civil service morale? And how might his experiences leading government departments help him approach the job of cabinet secretary?
This special IfG webinar answered these questions – and yours – with a brilliant panel featuring:
Dr Catherine Haddon, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
Sir David Lidington, Cabinet Office minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 2018–19
Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government. -
Thirty years ago, following a series of high-profile political scandals, John Major set up the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) to advise him – and future prime ministers – on ethics and behaviour. So has the CSPL been a success – and what might come next for standards in public life?
Over the last three decades the committee has been an influential voice on the standards expected of people in public office, including setting out the seven principles of public life that apply to politicians, public officials and frontline staff and the establishment of standards regulators including the parliamentary commissioner and the Electoral Commission.
However, recent scandals like ‘partygate’ and controversies over the acceptance of gifts, alongside reports from the infected blood and Grenfell inquiries, demonstrate that work on embedding transparency and ethical behaviour remains unfinished.
How can the committee respond to challenges posed by increased use of AI in the public sector? What more could be done to build greater trust in politicians and public services? And what difference could the Labour government’s planned Ethics and Integrity Commission make?
To answer these questions, and more, we were joined by:
Doug Chalmers CB DSO OBE, Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
Pippa Crerar, Political Editor at The Guardian
Daniel Greenberg CB, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
Dame Glenys Stacey, Chair of the Office for Environmental Protection
The event was chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. -
The Institute for Government was pleased to welcome Kate Forbes MSP, Deputy First Minister (DFM) of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, for an 'in conversation' event on 18 November 2024.
The DFM reflected on the 10th anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum and the 25th anniversary of Scottish devolution. She also discussed the state of Scotland's economy and public services in light of the UK budget, and the Scottish government's policy and legislative agenda.
The DFM was in conversation with Akash Paun, Programme Director for Devolution, which was followed by Q&A with the live and online audience. - Visa fler
