Institute for Government

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome John Edwards, the UK Information Commissioner. He was in conversation with the Institute’s Director of Research Emma Norris. Proper use of public data is key for maintaining trust in public bodies, as well as ensuring that government services run well. As the UK's independent data protection watchdog, the ICO is at the heart of discussions over data use and how to find the balance between privacy and transparency. So what steps can be taken to improve government transparency over data? Is it time to reassess how the UK’s Freedom of Information laws work? What will be the impact of the Online Safety Bill – and what changes will the government be introducing to this much talked about piece of legislation? John Edwards discussed his strategic priorities as Information Commissioner, the challenges faced by the ICO, and ICO25, the ICO’s new strategic plan. John Edwards was appointed as the UK’s sixth Information Commissioner last December, and began his role at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in January. He previously spent eight years as New Zealand Privacy Commissioner.

The protection of people’s rights and liberties is a key part of the UK’s constitution, dating all the way back to the twelfth century. In recent years, and with the Covid pandemic seeing unprecedented restrictions on people’s everyday lives, the debate about what rights should be protected – and how – has been reignited. The government has confirmed that it will bring back the British Bill of Rights, but it is likely to face challenges from politicians of all parties – some of whom think it goes too far, and others who think it does not far enough. So does the government need to reform how people’s rights are protected in the UK? What questions have been raised about the right to protest after the focus on how the public could show dissent during King Charles III’s accession? And what role should international institutions play in upholding human rights? Panellists: Rt Hon Baroness Chakrabarti CBE, former Shadow Attorney General Estelle Dehon KC, Public Law Barrister at Cornerstone Barristers Lord Faulks KC, former Minister of State for Justice Professor Colm O’Cinneide, Professor of Human Rights Law at UCL This event was chaired by Jess Sargeant, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government. #IfGhumanrights We would like to thank Cornerstone Barristers for kindly supporting this event.

To try to help fill a black hole in the public finances, Jeremy Hunt has asked government departments to outline ways that they could cut spending. This is just the latest in a long line of governments that have attempted to get greater value for money from public spending. There have been repeated attempts to focus on the outputs and outcomes achieved, rather than just the money going in. But the most enduring and tenacious approach has been a Treasury focus on keeping control of the purse strings, rather than monitoring and holding departments to account for the outputs and outcomes they achieve. Drawing on the findings of a major research programme led by Professor Christopher Hood and funded by the Nuffield Foundation assessing the operation of public expenditure control in the UK between 1993 and 2015, the Institute for Government was delighted to host this event to discuss what can be learned from the success and failure of efforts at spending control in the UK over the past three decades and lessons from abroad. Our panel included: Professor Niamh Hardiman, Professor in Political Science and Public Policy at UCD SPIRe Professor Christopher Hood, Visiting Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government Professor David Richards, Professor of Public Policy at the University of Manchester Dame Sharon White, Chair of the John Lewis Partnership, former Chief Executive of Ofcom and Second Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury The event was chaired by Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government. #IfGpublicspending We would like to thank Nuffield Foundation for kindly supporting this event.

The public appointments system struggles to appoint candidates in a timely and efficient way. It has been dogged by controversy in recent years, from media speculation over the appointment of new chairs of Ofcom and the BBC to delays at the Charity Commission and the Competition and Markets Authority. Politicians, officials, candidates and the public have expressed frustration with the process. The Institute for Government’s report, Reforming Public Appointments, proposes a package of reforms including clearer data on the causes of delays, fewer ministerial decision points, and an expansion of regulation to include more roles. Our panel explored what the purpose of the public appointments system is, how well it is working now and what reforms might be needed: Lord Jonathan Evans, Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and former Director General of the UK Security Service Baroness Simone Finn, Former Deputy Chief of Staff at Number 10 Sue Gray, Second Permanent Secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, Chair of the Liaison Committee and former Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee William Shawcross CVO, Commissioner for Public Appointments This event was chaired by Dr Matthew Gill, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve.   At this month's event, the 35th in our series, the speakers presented their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience.   This month's speakers were:  Carlos Ahumada, Public Policy Manager Data for Good at Meta, on Meta’s support to crisis response and policymaking through innovative data-based tools Niovi Karathodorou, Senior Data Scientist at the Office for National Statistics Data Science Campus Dr Alan Roberts, Head of Emerging Risks in the Cabinet Office, on blending data analysis with expert judgement to build a country stability index Donna Lyndsay, Strategic Market Lead – Environment & Sustainability at Ordnance Survey The event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Associate at the Institute for Government. Find out more about Data Bites: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/data-bites

An IfG expert briefing on the challenges facing the new PM Rishi Sunak has vowed to “fix” the mistakes made by his short-lived predecessor in No.10. But this country’s third prime minister in just over two months has inherited a daunting in-tray – and a party still reeling from the resignation of Boris Johnson, the fraught leadership contest that followed, and the 49 days of Liz Truss’s chaotic government. So how can Sunak lead a government which, in his words, displays “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”? How will the November 17 fiscal plan announcement define the former chancellor’s spending priorities and his vision for the economy? And what steps can he take to unite his party and fix the damage done by the Truss and Johnson premierships? We held an expert IfG briefing on the challenges which face the new prime minister. With: Sam Freedman, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Dr Catherine Haddon, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government This event was chaired by Emma Norris, Director of Research at the Institute for Government.

David Halpern, the ‘What Works’ National Adviser since 2013 and chief executive of the Behavioural Insights Team, has spent nearly a decade advising ministers and other leaders in government on using evidence to make better policy. As his term as national adviser comes to an end he spoke at the Institute for Government to look back at the successes, failures and future prospects for doing ‘what works’ and how it should continue to inform government practice and policy. Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and head of the civil service policy profession, joined David to reflect on good policy making, with Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government chairing the event. #IfGWhatWorks

From u-turning on budgets to sacking chancellors, spooking the markets and seeing borrowing rates climb, it has been a dramatic, chaotic and, for many people, painful start to Liz Truss’s time as prime minister. What mistakes were made in the transition between Boris Johnson’s No.10 and Truss’s administration? Why were Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng so quick to disregard the value of institutions and experience in government? How should a prime minister change course when things go wrong? And what can Jeremy Hunt do as the new chancellor to restore faith in this government’s handling of the economy? As Truss attempts to calm the markets, the public and her party, the IfG’s new director Dr Hannah White brought together an expert IfG panel to examine where the prime minister went wrong and explore the lessons that should be learned from her first 40 days in No.10 for future incoming administrations. With Dr Catherine Haddon, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government #IfGTruss

Scotland’s place in the union hangs in the balance. The Supreme Court is set to decide whether Nicola Sturgeon can hold her proposed 2023 independence referendum. If the verdict goes against the SNP, then Sturgeon’s Plan B is to place independence at the heart of the next general election campaign. The UK government is determined to prevent a rerun of the 2014 vote, while Labour is developing plans for further devolution and wider constitutional reform. Opinion polls reveal a nation split down the middle on independence. So what will the Supreme Court’s verdict mean? Where does the debate on independence go next? And what alternative constitutional scenarios could unfold in Scotland’s future? On the day after the Supreme Court hearing, the Institute for Government hosted an event to discuss the court case, the legal and constitutional principles at stake, and explore how Scotland can move towards a stable future – inside or outside the union. Our expert panel: Professor Aileen McHarg, Professor of Public Law and Human Rights at Durham Law School Rt Hon Jim Murphy, former Secretary of State for Scotland and former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Stephen Noon, former Senior Policy Adviser to the First Minister of Scotland and strategist for Yes Scotland in the 2014 independence referendum Professor Adam Tomkins, John Millar Chair of Public Law at the University of Glasgow and former Scottish Conservative MSP The event will be chaired by Akash Paun, Senior Fellow of the Institute for Government. #IfGScotland

It is 15 years since former home secretary John Reid reportedly described the Home Office as ‘not fit for purpose”. So what is the verdict in 2022? Just four years ago the Windrush scandal exposed systemic problems in the Home Office’s handling of immigration and citizenship, the way policies were made and the culture of the department. And since then the Home Office has continued to make headlines – and not always in a good way. Recent years have seen the department implement a new immigration system following the UK’s departure from the EU, respond to scandals over police competence and culture, fall out with the Mayor of London over the leadership of the Met Police and, more recently, spark a fierce debate over its plans to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda. So, with Suella Braverman’s appointment as the fifth home secretary since the start of 2016, how well is the Home Office actually functioning? Does it have a coherent set of responsibilities or is it time to create a separate department for immigration? Has the split of homeland security and justice – with the 2007 creation of the Ministry of Justice – been a success? And what progress has been made since the Windrush scandal? To discuss all this we were joined by: Samuel Coates, Senior Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and former Special Advisor (Policy) at the Home Office Amelia Gentleman, reporter at the Guardian and author of the Windrush Betrayal Sir Philip Rutnam, former Permanent Secretary of the Home Office Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council This event was chaired by Jill Rutter, senior fellow at the Institute for Government. Get involved and join the conversation using the hashtag #IfGHomeOffice