On 20 November 2025, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry will publish its second report. This module focuses on political and administrative decision making during the pandemic, examining how key decisions were made across government, and civil service performance. This report will also include perspectives from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

In a rapid reaction webinar the following day, our expert IfG panel unpacked the report’s findings and explored their implications for future governance:

The webinar was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government.

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At May’s UK-EU summit, Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a new Common Understanding between the EU and the UK.

The government hailed a new “deal” with the EU which included an agreement on fisheries and a joint commitment to negotiate a ‘youth experience scheme’, as well as new arrangements for agriculture, emissions trading,  energy cooperation and defence.  Many of these changes will involve the UK accepting dynamic alignment, with its potential role in “decision-shaping” to be defined.

Six months on, how much progress has been made? Have new stumbling blocks emerged? And now the government has started to highlight the economic consequences of Brexit, will it start to seek an even closer relationship? 

To explore these questions and more, we were joined by our expert panel:

The event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank UK in a Changing Europe for kindly supporting this event.

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Poor public service performance was a key reason for Labour’s victory in the 2024 election. Following the new government’s first multi-year spending review and a major reshuffle, this event brough together a panel of experts to discuss how successfully Labour has managed public services since coming to office.  

This event brought together a panel of experts to discuss these key questions:

As the Institute for Government published the latest edition of Performance Tracker, written in partnership with the Nuffield Foundation, which featured new analysis on the performance of public services, Amber Dellar, Stuart Hoddinott and Cassia Rowland, presented the key findings. They were joined by Stephen Bush, associate editor and columnist at the Financial Times.

This event was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government, with an introduction by Mark Franks at the Nuffield Foundation.  

This event was kindly supported by the Nuffield Foundation.

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This event was part of the IfG's Labour Party Conference programme.

Speakers: 

This event was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

This event was held in partnership with the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place at the University of Liverpool and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

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This event was part of the IfG's Labour Party Conference programme.

Speakers:

This event was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

This event was held in partnership with Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK. 

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Better use of technology, the transition from analogue to digital, and greater innovation are at the heart of the 10 Year Health Plan. This includes plans to make the NHS app a gateway to the entire NHS, integrate AI into clinical pathways, create a new Health Data Research Service, make genomic sequencing at birth universal, utilise wearable technology in treatments as standard, and to improve uptake and adoption of medicines.

What are the potential benefits of greater use of technology and innovation in the NHS? Are there any risks associated with this? How deliverable is the 10 Year Health Plan’s vision for the use of technology and innovation in the NHS? What are the barriers to greater adoption of technology and innovation more broadly? And how can these be overcome? How can investment in technology and innovation be protected and prioritised?  

To discuss these questions and more, we were joined by an expert panel including:

This event was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK for kindly supporting this event.

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Keir Starmer has announced plans for a new digital ID scheme to combat illegal working and make it easier for people to use vital government services like applying for a driving licence and accessing tax records. The government has said that digital ID will be mandatory for right to work checks by the end of this parliament.

But critics argue that government has not made a clear case for digital ID, and warn that building a secure, reliable and trusted form of digital identity will be a monumental challenge to implement.

So what problem – and for whom – would digital ID solve? Are the government’s ambitions realistic? Is the right data and security infrastructure in place?  And what could this mean for digitally excluded groups?  

To discuss these questions and more, we will be joined by an expert panel including: 

The event will be chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. 

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The fast stream, the civil service’s flagship talent development programme, has recently seen a record number of applications and reclaimed the top spot in the Times Higher Education graduate scheme ranking.

But exclusive Institute for Government research reveals that the programme still faces significant challenges, including early exits from the scheme, variable quality of postings and fast streamers struggling to find roles upon scheme completion.

What should the fast stream’s role be in the wider civil service recruitment ecosystem? What can the government do to ensure that the fast stream delivers more for the civil service? What can the civil service learn from other sectors? And what should future fast stream reform efforts focus on? 

To explore these questions, the IfG was delighted to be joined for a panel discussion on the future of the fast stream by: 

The conversation started with a presentation of key IfG research findings by Teodor Grama, author of Changing course: How to reform the civil service fast stream. 

The event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

00:00 Introduction

02:16 Presentation on report key findings

10:29 Discussion

33:54 Q&A from the audience

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The IfG DevoLab is a new initiative from the Institute for Government dedicated to exploring the innovations enabled by devolution, learning from the results, and sharing the lessons so that places can take better decisions about how to use devolved powers and budgets.  

On 6th November, the IfG hosted its third IfG DevoLab event in Leeds, at which speakers from three regions set out how the powers and profile of mayors are being used to improve transport connectivity within and between their regions. 

The three case studies presented at IfG DevoLab #3 were:

The three speakers were joined by Tom Bridges, UK Government Business Leader at Arup, for a broader discussion of how devolution can improve transport connectivity, how the government can support innovation and learning, and whether there is a case for further devolution in this area.

This event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. 

Insights from this discussion will inform a published policy briefing containing the three case studies and a synthesis of key lessons.

We would like to thank Arup for kindly supporting this event.

We are also grateful to our strategic partner L&G for its wider support of the IfG DevoLab series. 

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As well as the election of a new government, the last year has seen the appointment of a new cabinet secretary and eight new permanent secretaries to lead departments.  

How will this new leadership cohort change the civil service? What should they prioritise as they get to grips with their new departments? And how can they build the most talented teams to deliver the government’s priorities?

To explore these questions, with a particular focus on the Civil Service Commission’s role in recruiting senior leaders and developing the talent pipeline, the IfG was delighted to be joined for a panel discussion on civil service leadership and change by:

Baroness Stuart spoke briefly to consider the opportunities and challenges for the civil service. She spoke to the Commission’s strategic priorities for 2025–27.  

The event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. 

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