IfG Events

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's tax-slashing plan for growth stunned MPs, commentators and economists alike on Friday - and sent the value of the pound plummeting. So just how big a gamble is his vision for the economy? Does his plan for easing the cost of energy crisis add up? And how long does Liz Truss have to convince voters that her policies will deliver growth? The IfG economics team of Tom Pope, Giles Wilkes and Olly Bartrum assembled to make sense of a huge day in Parliament. Presented by Hannah White.This is a recording of a Twitter Spaces conversation  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Dame Dr Jenny Harries OBE, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency.After serving as the UK’s deputy Chief Medical Officer during the pandemic, Dr Harries took on leadership of the new UK Health Security Agency in April 2021. In conversation with Dr Matthew Gill, Programme Director at the Institute for Government, she discussed her vision for the UKHSA: What role will it play in protecting the country from Covid and future pandemics? What does Dr Harries see as the main challenges and priorities for the agency? And how will Dr Harries’ time as Deputy Chief Medical Officer shape her approach to leading the UKHSA? Jenny Harries is the inaugural Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency. She was previously the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England. She has served on the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and worked in a variety of public health roles in the UK and abroad.#IfGHarries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Modelling and forecasting played a prominent role in the way policies were designed and decisions were made during the coronavirus pandemic. But the government’s handling of the crisis raised questions about how modelling - epidemiological and economic – was used by ministers.So how should models be produced and used within government? How should they be communicated to the public? And how well equipped are ministers and officials to understand and interpret modelling when making their decisions?.This panel explored the role of modelling in the Covid pandemic, the lessons that ministers should learn, and how the UK should draw on modelling in future crises. Ben Chu, Economics Editor for Newsnight Professor Neil Ferguson, Director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London Richard Hughes, Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Ruth Kelly, Chief Analyst at the National Audit Office. The event was chaired by Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.#IfGforecastWe would like to thank The Forum, Imperial College London’s policy engagement initiative for kindly supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Institute for Government was delighted to host an event with the Office for Budget Responsibility to discuss their new Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report.While the economic shocks of the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have been huge, there are many other factors likely to change the shape of the UK state and the demands placed on it in future. Some – such as the ageing of the population and the shift towards net zero carbon emissions – can be anticipated; others – such as the impacts of unabated climate change and possible future geopolitical instability – are harder to predict with certainty.This event opened with a short presentation by Richard Hughes, Chair of the OBR, on the main findings in the report followed by a panel discussion on the major challenges facing the UK and how the government can best prepare for these.Our panel included: Professor Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director-General of RUSI Rosa Hodgkin, Researcher at the Institute for Government Richard Hughes, Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility Professor Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics, London Business School. The event was chaired by Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.#IfGeconomy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From housing to aviation, the digital economy to patient safety, ministers have a huge range of responsibilities. Yet little is known about how different ministers approach their roles and the reasons for these differences.How do ministers make decisions? How do they work with the civil service and devise policy? And how do they manage their teams? Dr John Boswell and Dr Jessica Smith of the University of Southampton, drawing on the Institute for Government’s Ministers Reflect archive, have identified different patterns in the way ministers work and seek to lead the civil service - and the different approaches taken by men and women serving in ministerial roles.To discuss their findings, and how this can help future ministers and civil servants: Dr John Boswell, Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Southampton Dr Jessica Smith, Lecturer in Politics at the University of Southampton Margot James, former minister at DCMS and BEIS and MP for Stourbridge, 2010-19 Dame Una O’Brien, former permanent secretary, Department of Health This event was chaired by Tim Durrant, Associate Director at the Institute for Government.#IfGministersWe would like to thank the University of Southampton and the ESRC for supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ministers emphasise the need to create new manufacturing jobs. But from law and accountancy to retail and hospitality, the UK economy is predominantly services-based – with many high value services jobs concentrated in the South East.So how can the services sector contribute to economic growth across the UK? What can the government do to help service sector clusters thrive outside London and the South East? And is the government getting the balance right between focusing on manufacturing and services?To discuss these questions and more: Bim Afolami MP for Hitchin and Harpenden Bhavina Bharkhada, Head of Policy at Make UK John Cooper, Partner, Public Law & Regulation at Gowling WLG Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government The event was chaired by Thomas Pope, Deputy Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.#IfGlevellingupWe would like to thank Gowling WLG for their support for this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Brokenshire served in Theresa May’s cabinet between 2016 and 2019, first as Northern Ireland Secretary and then as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. In memory of James, who died in 2021, the former prime minister delivered a lecture at the Institute for Government reflecting on the theme of public service which was central to his life and career.Following the lecture, Mrs May was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government.#IfGBrokenshire Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The government spends around £300bn a year – a third of all public expenditure – on procurement. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, the government has proposed major reforms to the rules governing public sector buying.  The government says the new Procurement Bill will create a simpler and more transparent system which makes it easier for SMEs to win contracts and for the government to disqualify poorly performing suppliers.  This event discussed the bill’s aims, challenges to achieving the government’s objectives and featured a presentation on the key measures contained in the bill from:  Ed Green, Deputy Director, Commercial Policy - International and Reform at the Cabinet Office  Lindsay Maguire, Head of Engagement for Procurement Reform at the Cabinet Office  And responses from:  Mark Leigh, Deputy Chief Commercial Officer at DWP Laura Wisdom, Partner at Burges Salmon  The event was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.#IfGoutsourcing This event was kindly supported by Burges Salmon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Equipping the UK workforce with the right skills will be critical to the success of the net zero transition, and the government has committed to reforming the skills system.What should those skills, and reforms, look like? How can the government make sure that the right skills are available in the right place at the right time? And what can it do to ensure that the opportunities of net zero are shared fairly across the country?Discussing these questions were: Sam Alvis, Head of Economy at Green Alliance Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment Ian O'Donnell, Net Zero and Special Projects Lead at the Federation of Small Businesses Tom Sasse, Associate Director of the Institute for Government.  The event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.#IfGnetzeroWe would like to thank The Forum, Imperial College London’s policy engagement initiative for kindly supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The role of the Lord Chancellor is to protect and uphold the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Yet the position is held by a cabinet minister: the secretary of state for justice.This overlap between the independent judiciary and the political world, and the balance of power between parliament, government and the judiciary, is the source of much debate – and disagreement.So what powers, if any, should a Lord Chancellor have over judicial appointments? Should the role go to someone with a legal background? What makes a good Lord Chancellor?Sir Robert Buckland, who served as Lord Chancellor and secretary of state for justice until September 2021, opened this event with a short speech on his experiences in post and his proposals for how it can be reformed.Responding to Sir Robert Buckland and joining the discussion: Baroness Butler-Sloss, former judge and first female Lord Justice of Appeal Sir Jonathan Jones, former treasury solicitor and head of the government legal departmentThe event was chaired by Emma Norris, Director of Research at the Institute for Government.#IfGLordChancellor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices