Institute for Government

The energy crisis – deepened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – has raised questions about the UK’s energy transition, including about affordability and security of supply.  How would a Labour government shift the UK to a net zero energy system? Our panel included Bill Esterson, Shadow Minister for Business and Industry; Sam Alvis, Head of Economy at Green Alliance; Sue Ferns, Deputy General Secretary at Prospect; Guy Newey, Chief Executive Officer at the Energy Systems Catapult. This event was recorded at the 2022 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

The UK government has promised further devolution to England’s cities and counties as part of its levelling up agenda, and wants metro mayors to play a leading role in closing regional economic and social disparities.   Is devolution the answer to tackling England’s regional inequality? How can local decision making lead to better outcomes? And what should be Labour’s distinct vision for generating economic growth and devolution?  We discussed with: Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester Christian Wakeford, Member of Parliament for Bury South and Member of the Transport Select Committee Francesca Gains, Professor of Public Policy and Academic Co-Director of Policy@Manchester at the The University of Manchester Phillip Woolley, Partner, Head of Public Services Consulting at Grant Thornton UK LLP This event was recorded at the 2022 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

Coronavirus has placed a huge strain on the criminal justice system, with policing made more challenging, a huge growth in crown court backlogs, and prisons unable to deliver many rehabilitative services. But many problems predated the pandemic and must also be addressed. At the Labour Party Conference we explored how Labour would deliver a justice system that works for everyone. Our panel with Seetec, chaired by Nick Davies, included: Steve Reed, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Maria Eagle MP, Member of the Justice Select Committee Suki Binning, Chief Social Worker/Group Operations Director at Interventions Alliance Mark Fenhalls QC, Chair of the Bar Council This event was recorded at the 2022 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

Wes Streeting MP, Shadow Health and Social Care Secretary, delivers a keynote speech on how Labour would tackle workforce shortages and burnout, backlogs and access to GP appointments. The event was followed by a discussion with Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research and REAL Centre at The Health Foundation and Emma Norris, IfG Director of Research. This event was recorded at the 2022 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Michael Cockerell, the BBC broadcaster and political journalist whose award-winning political documentaries have taken viewers behind the scenes of British politics for nearly half a century. He has interviewed a dozen prime ministers from Macmillan to Johnson, and made films about leading politicians including Roy Jenkins, Enoch Powell Denis Healey, Barbara Castle, Ken Clarke and Alan Clark. His documentary series have included the How to Be trilogy (How to Be Chancellor, How to Be Foreign Secretary and How to Be Home Secretary), The Great Offices of State and The Secret World of Whitehall. In conversation with IfG Senior Fellow Dr Catherine Haddon, Michael Cockerell discussed his memoir, Unmasking our Leaders, and share the stories and secrets – including clips from a number of his documentaries – of the politicians that he has met and interviewed. And with a new prime minister moving into 10 Downing Street, this event will also explore the qualities that make – and sometimes break – our political leaders. #IfGCockerell

The collapse of Carillion was driven by the reckless behaviour of the company’s directors, but the impact of its collapse on the public sector was also down to the government’s approach to outsourcing. Ministers have admitted that approach had often been flawed, and that the system of checks and balances had not worked. Four years on, and as the government seeks to make wholesale changes to procurement regulations, this event will assess whether it has learnt the lessons from Carillion. Key discussion points were: Has the government’s approach to outsourcing changed? How successful have the government’s post-Carillion reforms been? What impact have these reforms had on government procurement during the pandemic? Will the reforms in the proposed procurement bill help prevent future collapses of high-profile outsourcing firms? To discuss these we were joined by: Sally Guyer, Global CEO, World Commerce and Contracting Matthew Rees, Director of the NAO Commercial Hub Gareth Rhys Williams, Government Chief Commercial Officer Kate Steadman, Group Strategy & Communications Director at Serco The event was chaired by Nick Davies, 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 33rd in our series, the speakers will present their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker has eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speakers are: Claire Eadington, Head of Data Portfolio at the Central Digital and Data Office, on CDDO's strategic roadmap for data Alexis Castillo-Soto, Deputy Director for Digital and Data in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on how its Data Management Service (DMS) provides a flexible, scalable solution that can be reused to support existing/future digital services Anna Price, Statistics Regulator, Health and Social Care Lead at the Office for Statistics Regulation, on Reproducible Analytical Pipelines in government Matt Kerlogue, former Head of Data Innovation, Cabinet Office Analysis & Insight, on three things he’s learnt being a “data person” in government The event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Associate at the Institute for Government. #IfGDataBites

Diversity and inclusion are a key part of the discussion about how to run effective public services. The Cabinet Office's ‘Declaration on Government Reform’ reinforced the need for the civil service to draw on a more diverse range of experiences, skills and backgrounds, and set the standard for inclusive workplaces where people achieve their full potential. The new prime minister will need to make decisions about the government's approach to managing diversity and inclusion in the public sector. Such key decisions will be: How can current leaders create public sector workforces that reflect wider society? How can organisations support diverse groups of future public sector leaders and how can diverse public sector institutions deliver more inclusive policies and services? This panel event will draw on insights from the three previous private roundtables in the IfG and PwC’s Future Leaders Series. This series has brought together a mix of current and future public sector leaders to consider how the public sector can best reflect and serve society in a more inclusive way. On our panel to discuss these questions: Paul Cleal, Adviser and non-executive board member for the Premier League, Guy’s & Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the Metropolitan Police Cllr Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council and Chair of the Leaders' Committee of London Councils Rupert McNeil, former Government Chief People Officer Ming Tang, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at NHS England Bernadette Thompson, Associate Director of Inclusion at Barts Health NHS Trust and former Deputy Director for Inclusion, Wellbeing and Employee Engagement at DLUHC The event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. #IfGfutureleaders We would like to thank PwC for kindly supporting this event as part of their Future of Government research programme.

After a frenetic summer, the new prime minister will arrive in Downing Street with a busy in-tray. From looming energy price rises to wider pressures on the cost of living, from backlogs in the NHS to questions over cleaning up government, Liz Truss will take over on 6 September with barely time to draw breath. At this event, IfG experts will explore the big questions facing the next occupant of No.10: what are the options for tackling the cost of living crisis? How can government sort out the problems in key public services? And how can the next prime minister demonstrate that he, or she, is serious about ministers maintaining high ethical standards? To discuss these questions and more, our IfG expert panellists were: Dr Hannah White, Acting Director of the Institute for Government Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government Nick Davies, Programme Director of the public services team Alex Thomas, Programme Director of the civil service team Tim Durrant, Associate Director for the ministers team The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Director of Research at the Institute for Government. #IfGnewPM

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