Steve Skelton
@steve1skelton.bsky.social
Practitioner policy wonk | Founder www.questionfactory.co.uk | Trustee @mysociety | Ex- Demos, LGA, Stockport Council, GMCA, Govt of Jersey, LCRCA
As our national politics gets increasingly devo-curious, we've published some thoughts from our work with both established and emerging strategic authorities, and the trade in ideas between the two. #devolution #localgov #communitypower #growth questionfactory.co.uk/blog/notes-f...
Notes from the place-based state - Question Factory
I think consultancy is closer to haulage than most people imagine.
questionfactory.co.uk
The absolute bloody vandalism of austerity in one chart. Good analysis of the overall picture here.
Nick Davies@njdavies.bsky.social · 12mo agoNEW: @instituteforgovernment.org.uk have published pt1 of Public Services Performance Tracker 2025 covering local government finances and overall performance, adult social care, children's social care and homelessness Incredible work by @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social & @amberdellar.bsky.social
As we rethink and reimagine how local government is shaped for future generations, @steve1skelton.bsky.social looks at the evolution of strategic authorities. buff.ly/PSFIRAa #EnglishDevolutionBill
Designing Strategic Authorities: culture, capability and a compelling Story - New Local
Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) have never truly been designed; they’ve evolved. Greater Manchester — the starter culture for all MCAs — looked like a reasonably recognisable set of shared…
buff.ly
Lovely to share thoughts with our friends @wearenewlocal.bsky.social As ever with QF this is practice driven insight that works in the real world. If you're developing an MCA, trying to make one work or want to drive your established authority even further, get in touch www.questionfactory.co.uk
New Local@wearenewlocal.bsky.social · last yr.As we rethink and reimagine how local government is shaped for future generations, @steve1skelton.bsky.social Skelton looks at the evolution of strategic authorities www.newlocal.org.uk/articles/des... #EnglishDevolutionBill
Sodium-iron batteries at grid scale: 200MW/400MWh, enough to "regulate up to 580 GWh annually." "The facility supports more than 30 local wind and solar power stations, alleviating the impact of intermittent supply and facilitating the integration of high shares of renewables into the grid." 😍
China launches world’s first grid-forming sodium-ion battery storage plant
The Baochi Storage Station in Yunnan integrates lithium and sodium-ion technologies at scale, a global first, aiming to stabilize renewable energy and cut costs as China accelerates its energy transit...
pv-magazine.com
Some thoughts on the 10 year Infrastructure Strategy being developed alongside the CSR. Includes the role MCAs could play to develop pipelines of social and public service infrastructure investments, and maybe even hold #totalplace style capital budgets. www.linkedin.com/posts/steve-...
Steve Skelton on LinkedIn: 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy Working Paper
An important HMT working paper here, setting out thinking on how the 10 year Infrastructure Strategy, which is due out alongside the CSR in June, might…
linkedin.com
Seems to be some genuine interest in DOGE from UK public service reform types. I can see no chance of genuine efficiencies coming from any organisation that runs its internal governance in this way.
Anyone else had this? Wierd bot account reposted all my posts. When I click on the handle its a clone of my account? Very odd...
Lovely to be introduced to @72prufrocks.bsky.social and to talk about ideas for #notwestminster discussion sessions. Planning to get deep into the question of how we reduce the barriers to participatory policy making, and how we take it mainstream. notinwestminster.wordpress.com
We are #Notwestminster
For everyone who has something positive to say about local democracy & anyone who is up for the challenge of making it better
notinwestminster.wordpress.com
Today's #devo WP heralds a new leadership craft that can weave together the previously distinct cultures and practices of: ☆ Govt Departments ☆ Local Government ☆ RDAs, and ☆ Government Offices More here 👇 www.linkedin.com/posts/steve-...
Steve Skelton on LinkedIn: The shape and size of Mayoral Combined Authorities has always varied over…
The shape and size of Mayoral Combined Authorities has always varied over time in different places. it's one of the things that makes the design of CAs such an…
linkedin.com
Friend of mine worked on this. Been waiting for it to be broadcast since I read your post. Panorama, The Truth about Smart Meters: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0024yyc via @bbciplayer
Panorama - The Truth about Smart Meters
Smart meters are supposed to make paying our energy bills easier and cheaper. But is that the whole story?
bbc.co.uk
James Plunkett@jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 2y agoSomeday someone will do a proper expose / there will be a major public inquiry on the smart meter rollout and it will not be pretty. One of the great policy delivery failures. The technology side of it is 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️
Strong agree. The answer is to invest in the democratic centre that can amplify citizen voice, and has the legitimacy to challenge silo professions. Otherwise it's just a bunch of managers in a room guarding their version of the truth.
Simon Parker@simonparker.bsky.social · 2y agoOk so you should go and read the new Demos report on the future of local government finance: demos.co.uk/research/bey... Then you can go and read my blog on why I DO NOT LIKE. medium.com/@SimonFParke...
I like this idea. I've thought the same about noting team meetings and I also thought it should be built once by practitioners and shared. Feels like that's the only way it would actually *work*.
James Plunkett@jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 2y agoNormally when someone asks 'what are the use cases for AI?' I'm one of those annoying people who say 'that's the wrong question' (fix the plumbing first, etc.). But Ok, I have one. (Sharing this to see if people agree or will throw vegetables.) Should we start Notetaker.gov.uk? 🧵
Re-posting for recent-influx followers. Some thoughts on what it means as the design impetus for combined authorities shifts from local to central government.
Jessica Studdert@jesstud.bsky.social · 2y agoBrilliant piece, love this framing around the role reversal of combined authorities- asks all the right questions about scale and impact we need to be considering at this point in devolution’s evolution…
Consensus on the value of mayoral devolution heralds a 2nd age of Combined Authorities An innovation designed by councils to make sense of national govt... ...is increasingly being used by national govt to make sense of councils Some thoughts on what this means here - medium.com/@QuestionFy/...
Writing the future of combined authorities
Combined Authorities were designed by councils to make sense of national govt. Now national govt is using them to make sense of councils.
medium.com
"We can't deliver growth if we don't reform public services" That's what you get when you have a ministerial team from Oldham and Tameside. 👊
A reminder that spending money to put data in the hands of front line practitioners, instead / as well as central analysts, is a legit strategy.
James Plunkett@jamestplunkett.bsky.social · 2y agoFailed to resist jumping into the debate about dashboards, nerve centres, and missions in government. Inspired by @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social and others medium.com/@jamestplunk... (I'm trying a new era of not posting this on Twitter at all, so grateful for RTs to help me hold out!)
I know it's a festival, but I still think £6 for a can of AF beer is a notable socio-economic moment 👇
This is why finding a way that combined authority CEOs can be Accounting Officers is necessary to make devolution real, and sustain it. The work arounds to make single settlements work in the absence of AO status are not designed to scale.
Ciaran Martin@ciaranm.bsky.social · 2y agoOne thing I’m consistently astonished by in the endless attempts to reform British Government is the absence of any consideration of why the departmental structure is so embedded & why so called ‘silos’ exist. There’s a long (boring) book in this for someone to write but for now a short 🧵1/
Back from a no-phones family holiday to find 600+ followers here. Presumably not a result of the, er, single post I'd made in the two months previous. Thanks to @jesstud.bsky.social @mysociety.bsky.social and anyone else that added me to a starter pack 🙏 Follower analysis suggests 3 groups 👇
Calling all folk with an interest in UK public policy: I’ve created a starter pack of think tankers, policy analysts & commentators active on @bsky.app go.bsky.app/LtNiL1o
