Cassia Rowland
@cassiarowland.bsky.social
Associate director in public services @Instituteforgov. Passionate about crime.
I’m on holiday, but somehow getting the impression this one might still be relevant
Cassia Rowland@cassiarowland.bsky.social · 4w agoThe new prime minister is about to run out of prison spaces. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. But once again, there are no easy answers and just cancelling early releases is not a solution. The focus must be on public protection - including better protection in the community. 🧵
Prisons have been back in the news, with early releases and the capacity crisis the gift that keeps on giving. But what is *actually* happening? How much of their sentence do people spend in prison at the moment, and how will that change? @marialaura-lacorte.bsky.social and I explain all:
How will the new prison early release scheme work? | Institute for Government
The Sentencing Act 2026 has brought in several changes to early release in England and Wales.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Good letter from Chi Onwurah seeking clarification about the split of DSIT’s responsibilities. The fact that there is still little clarity about the split is concerning, but it is a silver lining that the committee’s really good work will be continuing committees.parliament.uk/publications...
committees.parliament.uk
Some thoughts on the government's devo announcement today: Overall, this is a great start on the govt's flagship agenda 1/
Rewiring the State – Cabinet Statement (HTML)
gov.uk
A programme for government!! an actual programme for government!!
Bluegrass Bluegrass Gives
ALT: Bluegrass Bluegrass Gives
static.klipy.com
Matthew Fright@matthewfright.bsky.social · 2w agoMore @instituteforgovernment.org.uk initial reactions to the rewiring the state cabinet statement. TLDR - the scale of ambition is bold so a lot to unpack 🧵
I have blogged! The State of the Present: Andy Burnham’s new government or - Why the abolition of DSIT is baffling and bad - Why I'm worried about what it means for civil service reform - Some opportunities for the new government around data, digital, open government medium.com/state-of-the...
The State of the Present: Andy Burnham’s new government
In common with lots of other policy people in recent weeks, I’ve been reading Head North, the (very readable) book by new Prime Minister…
medium.com
This is an absolutely extraordinary stat: more people were recalled to prison than released Jan-March 2026. 3/4 were for breaches of licence conditions, not for committing further offences. Probation has just become incapable of managing offenders in the community & supporting rehabilitation.
Danny Shaw@dannyshaw.bsky.social · 3w agoAnd - another key MoJ stat: 13,193 released prisoners were sent back to jail, Jan-March 2026 - near record number of 'recalls'. Number going back to jail *outstripped* prisoners released: 12,977 - thought to be first time this has happened. As fast as prisoners are let out, they return.
The government must focus on public protection when it comes to prison releases Managing prison capacity provides an early test of Andy Burnham’s ability to grapple with trade-offs, argues @cassiarowland.bsky.social Read our comment: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/publ...
The government must focus on public protection when it comes to prison releases | Institute for Government
There are no easy answers to meeting the prison capacity challenge.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The new prime minister is about to run out of prison spaces. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. But once again, there are no easy answers and just cancelling early releases is not a solution. The focus must be on public protection - including better protection in the community. 🧵
The government must focus on public protection when it comes to prison releases | Institute for Government
There are no easy answers to meeting the prison capacity challenge.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
NEW BLOG: organisational boundaries in local govt, the NHS and police do not match up That's a problem for Burnham's devo ambitions He should intervene now to create an aligned system that paves the way for future public services devo More 👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/burn...
Burnham’s devolution agenda can lay strong foundations for public service reform | Institute for Government
The new PM needs to align the boundaries of services in local areas.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
So Burnham is pausing planned early releases from prisons. Not much of a surprise, but he should be hesitant to junk these plans entirely — the last government didn’t want to do this either! There are no easy answers on prison capacity www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...
Burnham pauses plan to release some prisoners early from September - live updates
Under the scheme - designed to ease overcrowding - thousands of prisoners in England and Wales could have been freed after serving a third of their sentence, rather than half.
bbc.co.uk
For those who want a break from Burnham news… NEW @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report out today by @paddy-mcalary.bsky.social, Saudamini Sigdel and I on how govt can better engage with researchers & bring their evidence, insights and expertise into policy making.
Government and academia: How government can better engage with researchers | Institute for Government
Government has made great strides in opening itself up to inputs from the UK’s world-leading university sector – but it can do still more.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
This is a fab chart from @resolutionfoundation.org. Really striking how much stronger the income gradient is for some services than others — no surprise that severe problems in local councils and especially the courts are felt more by those on low incomes.
Zachary Leather@zackleather.resolutionfoundation.org · 4w agoBurnham’s instincts to turn to transport first are on the pulse of public opinion, the public service that people across the country seem most dissatisfied with
Really interesting thread here for those interested in the cybersecurity implications of AI — positive and negative!
Andy Burnham is holding his first cabinet meeting as prime minister and there are a few new faces around the table. Key appointments were confirmed late yesterday, so we've updated our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk chart to show where we currently stand with ministerial appointments 👇
One question that’s come up a couple of times: where do Andy Burnham’s new cabinet represent as MPs? The north west has been the big gainer, with seven cabinet ministers holding seats there – of whom, five are in Greater Manchester
As cabinet appointments start to come in, a reminder that we (@instituteforgovernment.org.uk) hold a database of all ministerial appointments back to 1979 It's easy to look up all the previous holders of a post, all the roles someone has had etc: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-da...
IfG Ministers Database | Institute for Government
Search our database of all government ministers since 1979.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Lots of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk experts commenting on changes this week, including on Ministerial appointments today. Do follow @rebeccamckee.bsky.social @aliceolilly.bsky.social @gilesyb.bsky.social @cassiarowland.bsky.social @meganbryer.bsky.social and those in the chain below for insights
Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 4w agoAhead of a busy week, be sure to follow our expert insight and analysis: For our analysis on what's in store for the new chancellor and the fiscal choices they face follow @tompope.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social & @martha-ford.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/burn...
@jillongovt.bsky.social and I had a report ready to go but were pipped to the post by Burnham’s (predictable) decision to bring digital ID to an end. There were too many questions to answer and little that had been decided, making it an easier (and popular) decision than most will be for Burnham!
Jill Rutter@jillongovt.bsky.social · 4w agoFirst concrete decision from Burnham govt - binning the digital ID scheme - new comment from @hcdunlop.bsky.social and me @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/andy... Not a surprise and good to move quickly ..but will still need a view on other govt ID work
We have our new PM. Alongside, we’ll get a whole host of new ministers. We’re expecting new leaders in most of the big public service departments: health, justice, local government, home office, & maybe education too. But what will this mean for services and all their ongoing reforms? 🧵
Good news, and... One of the big positives in the Starmer govt’s approach was its move beyond a narrow focus on rough sleeping. Burnham should make sure this pledge sits within a broader prevention strategy - not simply drive more spending on poor-value temporary accommodation to meet the target
James Ball@jamesrball.com · 4w agoEnding rough sleeping is a nice pledge to hear – but worth noting it's *much* easier to achieve than ending homelessness. We pretty much managed it during Covid, but things got worse again rapidly. www.bigissue.com/news/housing...
Burnham starting off by promising to end rough sleeping is fascinating: it was his big cause in Manchester, made real early progress, pioneered a whole-system approach (prevention as well as housing provision) but then figures rising again. He argued Manchester could only get so far by itself...
The day’s first casualty: James Timpson resigns as prisons minister. This is a big surprise! Timpson had a long history as a prisons reformer before entering government and seen as one of Starmer’s more innovative & exciting appointments. He’s also delivered a big change programme in gov. So: why?
Prisons minister Lord Timpson quits government
The businessman said it was an "honour" to serve in the post, but the BBC understands he feels he has achieved all he can in the role.
bbc.co.uk
Great thread that touches on something really important: when gov intervenes in something like this in the face of expert advice from an arm’s-length body, it undermines the system of independence those bodies rely on. Gov put these things at arm’s length for a reason & this amps up politicisation.
WildDartmoor@tonydartmoor.bsky.social · last mo.This is a deeply disappointing U-turn by the Government, driven by misinformation and conspiracy theories about "pony culls" that were never on the table. Removing ponies from stocking calculations doesn't remove the need to manage grazing on Dartmoor. www.gov.uk/government/n...
It's England's world cup semi-finals day. Forget team selection dilemmas and xG analysis. What you really want is a really nerdy deep-dive into football, pub opening hours, and what they tell you about the most important form of legislation that you may never have heard of. Let's go.
Really great data vis in this morning's London Centric from @jim.londoncentric.media! Clear, fun and eye-catching - @philipnye.bsky.social one for our IfG data vis training? And as always well-worth a read, today on tipping culture in London open.substack.com/pub/londonce...
Just happened on this great blog from Justice Digital on protecting researchers when working on hard topics or with people who've experienced trauma. The little practical steps - taking a break after an interview, not doing this work from home if you can - are undervalued but make a real difference.
Do no harm – how to keep colleagues safe in research
If we want to design ethical, inclusive services that truly meet people’s needs, we also need to think about the emotional impact of research on the teams delivering it. Transforming government digit...
mojdigital.blog.gov.uk
New comment: Starmer can credibly say he steadied the ship on public services But his govt launched a haphazard set of reforms and performance has not improved radically What choices does Burnham face? What can he do in the next ~3 years? 🧵👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/burn...
Burnham should learn from Starmer’s successes and failures on public services | Institute for Government
Keir Starmer squandered the opportunity to reform public services.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Ok seen a few of these stories now. It's weird, given how many mid-term changes of PM we have had lately, that people don't remember they don't have shadow cabinets and there are many reasons they literally can't 'appoint' their picks before actually becoming PM. www.ft.com/content/66ad...
Andy Burnham warned over lack of cabinet as Number 10 transition talks step up
Prospective Labour prime minister could take office as soon as July 20
ft.com
