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 27th 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: Tina Mermiri, Head of User & Data Insight at Government Digital Service, on data, trends and change on GOV.UK Hannah Spiro, Head of Public Attitudes, and Holly Clarke, Public Attitudes Researcher, at the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI), on the findings of the CDEI Tracker Survey which monitors changing public attitudes to data and AI Charles Price, Deputy Director of the Knowledge Assets Team at BEIS, on public sector knowledge asset management Kathleen Caper, Senior Policy Adviser at the Central Digital and Data Office, on the Data Standards Authority and why data sharing governance is key to its plans. 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

After the long years of counter-insurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means the United Kingdom once again faces a conflict in Europe. At the same time, China is taking an increasingly assertive approach to Taiwan. The government's response to this era of renewed global competition is the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. One year on from its publication, the Institute for Government was delighted to host MoD Permanent Secretary David Williams alongside Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin to discuss their priorities for the Ministry of Defence and what reforms will ensure the civil service and armed forces are able to meet the threats the UK faces in the world. The event was chaired by Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government #IfGUKdefence

In 2017, Michael Gove called Brexit an ‘unfrozen moment’ which would allow ministers to address long-standing criticisms of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and free the government to radically reform the way it supports farmers. So will redirecting England’s £2.4 billion annual farm budget deliver a substantial Brexit dividend? Will reforms bring about everything farmers, environmentalists and taxpayers expect? And can those changes be delivered while the sector is coping with labour shortages, rising energy prices, new trade deals and post-Brexit regulatory changes? And how can policy on food, farming and land use help the government meet its ambitions on net zero, levelling up and tackling obesity? With post-Brexit agricultural reforms the subject of a new IfG report, Agriculture after Brexit: Replacing the CAP, this event will discussed what needs to be done to ensure a better future for food, farming and land use in England. On the panel: Jonathan Baker, Deputy Director in the Future Farming and Countryside Programme at Defra Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of The Food Farming & Countryside Commission (FFCC) Beccy Speight, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds (RSPB) This event was chaired by Joe Marshall, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government. Follow @ifgevents #IfGBrexit

Boris Johnson has set 'levelling up' the UK as the mission for his government, but few in Whitehall or the country can explain exactly what it is, how it will be implemented and what success looks like. Tackling regional inequalities lies at the heart of the Conservative Party's re-election hopes, but relies on the implementation of a complex series of policies across national and local government – so does the UK have the will and the money to see it through? Following the release of the government's levelling up white paper, the Institute for Government welcomed Neil O'Brien, the minister for levelling up, to explore levelling up with Sebastian Payne, Whitehall Editor of the Financial Times and author of Broken Heartlands: A Journey Through Labour's Lost England. The pair were in conversation with IfG director Bronwen Maddox, discussing Sebastian Payne's road trip through parts of England that voted Conservative for the first time in living memory and Neil O'Brien's work on producing the white paper and defining the policies that are the core mission of this government. #IfGlevellingup

COP26 highlighted the critical role business and finance will play in driving the transition to a net zero economy. Businesses made new net zero commitments; regulators discussed how to tighten scrutiny of those commitments; and policy makers announced plans to mandate the publication of climate-related risks to business. So how can finance best help the transition to net zero? What can be done to prevent ‘greenwashing’ and build trust in businesses’ commitment to tackling climate change? And what does government need to do to support green business and finance? With the UK set to continue to play a leading role on green finance, our panel discussed how it can accelerate progress after COP26: Sarah Breeden, Executive Director, Financial Stability Strategy at the Bank of England Anthony Browne MP, member of the Treasury Committee Maria Lombardo, Head of ESG Advisory Sustainable Finance at Standard Chartered Bank Kuangyi Wei, Director, Risk & Regulatory Strategy, UKI at Accenture The event was chaired by Tom Sasse, Associate Director at the Institute for Government. #IfGnetzero We would like to thank Accenture for kindly supporting this event.

Devolution, levelling up and local leadership As part of a special series of events on devolution and levelling up, featuring local leaders from across England, the Institute for Government was delighted to be joined by Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire and leader of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. After just under a year in office, Tracy Brabin discussed her role as mayor, working with the UK government to make levelling up a reality in West Yorkshire, and how she would like to see the powers of mayors evolve. Tracy Brabin was in conversation with Akash Paun, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. This event was broadcast live from Leeds in front of an invited audience. There was an opportunity to put questions to the mayor from both the online and in-person audience. Tracy Brabin was elected as MP for Batley and Spen in October 2016. She was appointed Shadow Minister for Early Years in 2017; Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in January 2020 and Shadow Minister for Cultural Industries in April 2020. She was elected as the first Mayor of West Yorkshire in May 2021, at which point she was required to step down as MP. #IfGdevo We would like to thank Manchester Airports Group for kindly supporting this event.

The norms and conventions of the UK’s uncodified constitution are being pushed to their limits – and sometimes beyond. In the absence of clear legal rules, the constitution relies on a shared understanding of what constitutes good behaviour in public and political life, and trust that people in positions of power will abide by that understanding. The constitutional historian Peter Hennessy describes as this as the “good chaps” theory of UK government. However, the Brexit process saw conflict between different branches of government – parliament, the government and the courts – while Westminster has been rocked by a recent series of scandals around the behaviour of ministers and MPs. So is this a temporary aberration or a deeper problem? Is greater codification needed to regulate the behaviour of constitutional actors? Can the UK rely on “good chaps” or is more needed to ensure norms and conventions are followed? As part of our review of the UK constitution, the Institute for Government and the Bennett Institute for Public Policy hosted a panel of experts to discuss these issues and more: Professor Andrew Blick, Head of the Department of Political Economy and Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at King’s College London Dr Catherine Haddon, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Professor Meg Russell, Professor of British and Comparative Politics and Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London The event was chaired by Maddy Thimont Jack, Associate Director at the Institute for Government. #IfGBennettInst

Devolution, levelling up and local leadership event series As part of a special series of events on devolution and levelling up, featuring local leaders from across England, the Institute for Government was delighted to be joined by Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region and leader of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. After nearly five years in office, Steve Rotheram discussed his role as mayor, how he is working with the UK government, what his priorities are for the Liverpool City Region and how he would like to see the powers of mayors evolve. Steve Rotheram was in conversation with Akash Paun, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. This event was broadcast live from Liverpool in front of an invited audience. There was an opportunity to put questions to the mayor from both the online and in-person audience. Steve Rotheram started his political career in 2002 as a Labour councillor on Liverpool City Council and served as Lord Mayor from 2008 to 2009. He was elected MP for Liverpool Walton in 2010 later becoming PPS to Jeremy Corbyn. He stood down as MP in 2017 and was elected Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region in May 2017. We would like to thank the JRSST Charitable Trust for its support of our wider programme of work on metro mayors and English devolution, of which this event is part. #IfGdevo

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Sir David Norgrove, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority. Sir David’s term as chair of the Statistics Authority, which oversees the UK’s statistical system (including the Office for National Statistics, the Office for Statistics Regulation, and the Government Statistical Service), has taken in a Census, the coronavirus pandemic, technological progress and other developments in how data and statistics are used in decision making. As his term comes to an end, he reflected on his experiences in conversation with Gavin Freeguard, Associate at the Institute for Government. #IfGNorgrove Sir David Norgrove is Chair of the UK Statistics Authority. Sir David began his career as an economist at the Treasury and worked in a Chicago bank before becoming Private Secretary to the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. He spent 16 years with Marks & Spencer between 1988 and 2004 and became a member of the Board there. Since leaving M&S he has chaired the Low Pay Commission, the Pensions Regulator and a Government review of the family justice system. Sir David was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the low paid and to family justice.

After a turbulent decade in British politics and government, the civil service faces a crisis of authority. Politicians question its legitimacy and effectiveness, permanent secretaries have been summarily dismissed and officials have been drawn into “partygate” and procurement scandals. A new paper from the Institute for Government will argue that the civil service needs a new statutory role to underpin its constitutional position and improve its accountability and effectiveness. Government reform also creates an opportunity to improve policy making in the UK. Chronic policy problems like housing supply, social care and regional inequality have been left untackled for too long. A second IfG report, also to be published on 3 March, will set out ways for the civil service to be held more accountable for the standards of its policy advice and the expertise of its staff. Our panel to debate these new papers: The Rt Hon The Lord Herbert of South Downs, former Minister of State for Policing and Social Justice The Rt Hon Dame Margaret Hodge MP, former Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Polly Mackenzie, Chief Executive of Demos and former Director of Policy to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg Ian Watmore, former First Civil Service Commissioner The event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. #IfGcivilservice