Public services were hit hard by the pandemic, which exacerbated existing performance problems and pressures on staff. High inflation and widespread strikes have since caused further disruption.

Ahead of the autumn statement, this event brought together an expert panel to discuss:

How does public service performance compare to pre-pandemic levels?

How can the government recruit and retain sufficient staff to improve public service performance?

What are the key public service challenges that will be faced by the winner of the next election?

As the Institute for Government and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) publish the latest edition of Performance Tracker which features new analysis on the performance of public services, Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government, presented the key findings. He was joined by Stephen Bush, Associate Editor and Columnist at the Financial Times, and Baroness Morris, Chair of the Lords Public Services Committee.

The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government, with opening remarks by Jeffrey Matsu, Chief Economist at CIPFA.