How can Andy Burnham deliver on Labour’s promise to improve public services?

From hospitals to schools, policing and local government, the effects of Labour’s promised reforms to public services are now being felt. Waiting times for some NHS services have improved, absence from schools is falling, and knife crime and neighbourhood crime have both fallen. But despite these signs of improvement, a thorny set of problems across public services could threaten Andy Burnham’s own ambitious reform agenda. The launch event for the IfG’s annual Public Services Performance Tracker, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, considered Keir Starmer’s legacy on public service improvement, how Burnham can deliver tangible improvements before the next election, and what choices face John Healey at his first budget and subsequent spending review. Our expert panel considered: What is Andy Burnham’s public service inheritance? How much progress did Keir Starmer’s government make on public services? What are the biggest public service challenges that need to be addressed over the rest of the parliament? How might Burnham’s devolution agenda transform public services? What are the implications for the budget and next year’s spending review? To discuss these questions and more, we were joined by: Amber Dellar, Researcher at the Institute for Government Stuart Hoddinott, Associate Director at the Institute for Government Cassia Rowland, Associate Director at the Institute for Government This webinar was chaired by Thomas Pope, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government. Mark Franks, Director of Welfare at the Nuffield Foundation, made opening remarks. We would like to thank the Nuffield Foundation for kindly supporting this event.