Details on some of the first services they intend to devolve power for, including employment support. A big win for @drbenpaxton.bsky.social and @martha-ford.bsky.social who recommended exactly that in their recent paper on the topic www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

John Healey becomes the 19th minister to resign from Keir Starmer's government. Here's a handy recap of all 19 and why they resigned. Read our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explainer on ministerial resignations for more info! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/mi...

Alan Milburn’s NEET diagnosis must lead to local level solutions Local leaders are best placed to support a “lost generation” of young people not in education or employment, say @drbenpaxton.bsky.social and @martha-ford.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/alan...

Alan Milburn’s NEET diagnosis must lead to local level solutions | Institute for Government

Local leaders are best placed to support a “lost generation” of young people not in education or employment.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

This is just the kind of testing and learning government should be doing to better understand how to support people out of work due to ill health (£) www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Sick notes ‘scrapped’ under plans to reduce benefit claimants

Social prescribers will be brought in to help those struggling with their health to stay in work in an attempt to reduce spiralling costs

thetimes.com

New IfG report recommends devolving employment support. I think the case for this is very strong: if you look at a map of “where sickness related economic inactivity happens”, it is obvious that what you are seeing is primarily a problem of how local economies operate:

Novel approach needed for UK’s sick and unemployed

A shift to local initiatives may help more people back into work

ft.com

More on all of this in the report. Huge thanks to @martha-ford.bsky.social, @tompope.bsky.social, @rebeccamckee.bsky.social and many other IfG colleagues. And to those who shared their insights from designing, delivering or using employment support www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Designing and delivering employment support | Institute for Government

How can government better support people out of work due to ill health?

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Our new IfG report explores what a better system of employment support for people out of work due to ill health could look like. DWP's centralised approach to date has some strengths, but has limited integration with other services and the innovation needed to better understand what works 🧵

Martha Ford@martha-ford.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Government should devolve greater responsibility for employment support. Our report, published today, sets out how government could better support people out of work due to ill health: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/... Why write this now?

Government should devolve greater responsibility for employment support. Our report, published today, sets out how government could better support people out of work due to ill health: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/... Why write this now?

Designing and delivering employment support | Institute for Government

How can government better support people out of work due to ill health?

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

new online paper by @rosahodgkin.bsky.social @danhaile.bsky.social and me on how govt needs to get a grip of the economic consequences of the Iran war. Needs to stand up coordinating machinery - like Gordon Brown's National Economic Council www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Managing the economic consequences of the Iran war | Institute for Government

How should the government respond to the crisis in the Middle East?

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

really looking forward to chairing this @instituteforgovernment.org.uk event at 10.00 a.m. previewed by @politico.com - everything you need to know about the energy crisis but were afraid to ask

A genuinely big announcement on English devolution from Rachel Reeves today! As we at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk alongside others have argued fiscal devolution was a missing piece of the puzzle in the government's devolution white paper.

we have an emergency webinar coming up @instituteforgovernment.org.uk - the Chancellor wants to protect households and the public finances. Can she? - great line-up Emma Pinchbeck @thecccuk.bsky.social @acjsissons.bsky.social @nestauk.bsky.social our own @danhaile.bsky.social and Nick Butler

The Treasury Select Committee's inquiry into student finance will look at the fairness of Plan 2 repayment terms. In our recent explainer, we look at the wider context and explore why Plan 2 loans can be viewed as particularly punitive: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/st...

Student finance | Institute for Government

What financial support does the government offer students in England?

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

quick analysis of what @instituteforgovernment.org.uk learned from the spring unfiscal event - top work from @danhaile.bsky.social @benpaxton.bsky.social @martha-ford.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Four things we learnt from Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast 2026 | Institute for Government

The chancellor’s spring forecast was short and free of new policy content.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

when the chancellor's economic statement is light relief.

Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 5mo ago

PODCAST 🎙️ Trump vs Iran: Is the UK ready for war? Sir Alex Younger, former head of MI6, joins us to discuss what the US strikes on Iran mean for the UK and global security. PLUS: Spring forecast fall-out? We assess the chancellor's plan www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

PODCAST 🎙️ Trump vs Iran: Is the UK ready for war? Sir Alex Younger, former head of MI6, joins us to discuss what the US strikes on Iran mean for the UK and global security. PLUS: Spring forecast fall-out? We assess the chancellor's plan www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

Trump vs Iran: Is the UK ready for war? | Institute for Government

Sir Alex Younger, former head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), joins us to discuss what the US strikes on Iran mean for global security.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

"...sticking to one major fiscal event a year gives the government more time and space to make better policy decisions." @danhaile.bsky.social, IfG senior economist, reacts to today's 'low-key' spring forecast. More analysis to follow soon www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/spring-forec...

SPRING FORECAST - OBR's net migration forecasts have been revised down significantly; net migration forecast for 2030 is now 281k, vs. 340k in November's forecast.

Reeves sits down having announced no real new policy measures at this Spring Forecast (but having made a very political speech) So she did not make this a fiscal event – which is absolutely the right thing for her to do

Five reasons why today's Spring Forecast should not be a fiscal event, building on what my IfG colleagues wrote last week www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Will Rachel Reeves’s 2026 spring forecast be as low key as promised? | Institute for Government

The government is right to approach 3 March as a fiscal ‘non-event’.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Student loans have been in the news lately. But how does student finance actually work? @martha-ford.bsky.social explains what financial support the government offers students in England www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/st...

Student finance | Institute for Government

What financial support does the government offer students in England?

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

New comment from @danhaile.bsky.social, @jillongovt.bsky.social and me on why next Tuesday's spring forecast should ideally be a fiscal "non-event". We don't expect major shifts in the economic outlook, and so shouldn't see the "knee-jerk" policy responses of past spring statements.

Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 5mo ago

Will Rachel Reeves’s 2026 spring forecast be as low key as promised? @danhaile.bsky.social @martha-ford.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social assess whether the chancellor will be able to avoid creating headlines and what we might expect on 3 March www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Follow our spring forecast 2026 page for our key analysis and explainers ahead of next week www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/spring-forec...

Antonia Romeo, as well as being the first female cabinet secretary, will also be the fourth person to hold the position in the last 8 years. As the chart shows, such short recent tenures are atypical - and not ideal for enabling a permanent, impartial civil service. 1/

1/ With only a few months until the May elections, in this new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explainer we outline where elections are going ahead, where they aren’t, and what’s at stake🧵👇  www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/lo...

Local elections 2026 | Institute for Government

On Thursday, 7 May 2026, local elections will take place in many parts of England.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

We are really pleased to announce that our Government 2026 annual conference at the IfG will kick start with a keynote speech by Wes Streeting at 8:30am. He will be in conversation with @drhannahwhite.bsky.social Join us online: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

In this week’s Week in Public Services, I look at resident doctor strikes, the new child poverty strategy, extra funding for domestic abuse support and what jury trial reforms would really do to court backlogs. Some key takeaways below medium.com/week-in-publ...

Week in Public Services: 19th December 2025

This week: Resident doctor strikes, the new child poverty strategy, extra funding for domestic abuse support and analysis showing jury…

medium.com

1/ The latest ONS data on public sector employment shows that the civil service has grown (again). After 2 consecutive quarters of plateauing growth, the CS grew in Q3 by 3490 (0.6%) to 520440 FTE. This is the highest quarterly increase since Labour came to power. @instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Last week at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk, we published a new set of Ministers Reflect interviews with Sajid Javid, Simon Hart and Theresa Villiers. My comment piece below explores the key lessons Starmer's govt can take from these reflections. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/less...

The Office for Value for Money has been a success Last week the OVfM published its final reports, which set out a series of welcome improvements to the spending framework. @drbenpaxton.bsky.social looks at what it achieved in its short lifetime www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/offi...

The Office for Value for Money has been a success | Institute for Government

In its short lifetime the OfVM made valuable proposals for change.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk