The civil service in Wales must be prepared for a major change after May’s elections
Welsh civil servants adjusting to a new government, after decades of Labour ministers, is a challenge that cannot be underestimated
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/comm...
EVENT | A keynote speech by Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister for Housing and Planning
📆Wednesday 29 April 2026, 14:30 — 15:30
Join us as Matthew Pennycook MP gives a speech on leasehold reform and the move to commonhold. The speech will be followed by an audience Q&A.
12:30 today - watch brilliant colleagues analyse the Mandelson scandal in this webinar ⬇️
Starmer asked: will the prime minister look at the wider relationship between ministers and the civil service so trust can be restored? and says he will. But the way No10 have reacted over the weekend has actively damaged that relationship more than they needed to - and there was another way.
Doing a webinar with my very great @instituteforgovernment.org.uk colleagues tomorrow (Tues) lunchtime to try and unpack some of this post Starmer and Robbins statements - do sign up!
As a reminder
- No, you can’t accuse another MP of lying in the Commons
- Yes, it is broadly sensible that MPs can’t just stand up and accuse each other of lying
- Yes, there is a substantive process that can be used if an MP is felt to have misled the House
- Yes MPs know what the rules are
The English devolution bill: small but important steps on public health.
As government moves to give mayors a clearer role in improving health, our comment sets out some key lessons from DevoLab for how mayors can tackle inequalities:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/comm...
we need much clearer definition - and more distance - between ministers and civil servants. That would avoid the accountability mess we are in now. Reupping my 2022 contribution to @instituteforgovernment.org.uk constitutional review www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/defaul...
Our in conversation with James Murray MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will be starting in 10 minutes.
Join us online and submit your questions via Slido www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/james-...
Three weeks to go until the Senedd Cymru elections
What do we want? Welsh language content! When do we want it? Now!
Very excited we’re publishing two comment pieces in Welsh about the election in the land of my fathers 🏴
@meganbryer.bsky.social @howesdaniel.bsky.social top translators
Government should devolve greater responsibility for employment support. Our report, published today, sets out how government could better support people out of work due to ill health:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Why write this now?
Our new IfG report explores what a better system of employment support for people out of work due to ill health could look like. DWP's centralised approach to date has some strengths, but has limited integration with other services and the innovation needed to better understand what works 🧵
EVENT | In conversation with Rt Hon James Murray MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury: How will the government boost public service productivity?
📆Monday 20 April 2026, 12:30 — 13:30
Join us online or in-person as Rt Hon James Murray MP discusses plans to improve productivity in the public sector.
NEW | Designing and delivering employment support
The government has said it wants to deliver an 80% employment rate. @drbenpaxton.bsky.social and @martha-ford.bsky.social explore how employment support can be designed to achieve this.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
WEBINAR | Civil service leadership, diversity and morale
📆Tuesday 21 April 2026, 12:30 — 13:15
Join us online for the third of our 'A state rewired?' series exploring the findings of Whitehall Monitor 2026 and the people who make up the civil service workforce, including diversity and morale.
EVENT | In conversation with Rt Hon James Murray MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury: How will the government boost public service productivity?
📆Monday 20 April 2026, 12:30 — 13:30
Join us online or in-person as Rt Hon James Murray MP discusses plans to improve productivity in the public sector.
. @hzeffman.bsky.social reporting on BBC R4 Today that govt has created a new "Middle East Response Committee (6.35). This is what @instituteforgovernment.org.uk argued was necessary last week to manage the consequences of the war www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
We're doing a series of interviews with former PMs (to be published in the coming months!) and one of them said exactly this: the job is so varied, and you can't pick and choose the good bits of the job - you *have* to do them all.
Our online webinar begins in 10 minutes!
Tune in to catch the second of our 'A state rewired?' series exploring the findings of Whitehall Monitor 2026 and what hopes the government is pinning on digital transformation and AI
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Here @jillongovt.bsky.social @rosahodgkin.bsky.social and @danhaile.bsky.social break down what the Government neds to think about into short-, medium- and long-term buckets. Grab a coffee and peruse at length.
WEBINAR | Civil service digital transformation, data, and artificial intelligence
📆Tuesday 14 April, 12:30-13:15
Join us online for the second of our 'A state rewired?' series exploring the findings of Whitehall Monitor 2026 and what hopes the government is pinning on digital transformation and AI
Labour’s school improvement missions need more than a London Challenge revival.
The success of place-based school improvement depends on learning the right lessons from past reforms.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/comm...
I really enjoyed this opportunity to talk about our new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report on ministerial leadership in public service reform AND have such an interesting discussion with @charliepickles.bsky.social and Baroness Finn about their own experiences and insights!
Click to listen below
This is an awful story
It's also a case study of why services are costing more and still failing people
This is the worst possible outcome for the children, for the NHS, for the councils, and for national govt
It's worth looking at how they ended up there 👇
www.hsj.co.uk/emergency-ca...
Antonia Romeo’s performance objectives are a welcome sign of leadership.
@jackworlidge.bsky.social analyses the cabinet secretary's performance objectives: why they show evidence of a distinctive leadership style, and contain priorities for reform.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/anto...
With the current conflict in the Middle East triggering another energy supply shock, energy resilience is once again rising up the agenda.
Read our explainer to find out how vulnerable the UK is to global supply shocks:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/en...
new online paper by @rosahodgkin.bsky.social @danhaile.bsky.social and me on how govt needs to get a grip of the economic consequences of the Iran war. Needs to stand up coordinating machinery - like Gordon Brown's National Economic Council www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
NEW | Managing the economic consequences of the Iran war
@jillongovt.bsky.social, @rosahodgkin.bsky.social and @danhaile.bsky.social draw on lessons from recent crises and upcoming crisis policy making research to assess how to respond to the shock
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
