IfG Events

The Institute for Government was pleased to welcome Matthew Pennycook MP, Minister for Housing and Planning, to give a speech on leasehold reform and the move to commonhold. The speech, in which the Housing Minister spoke about the government's ambitions on ending the feudal leasehold system, follows publication of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny. Following the speech, Matthew Pennycook was in conversation with Nehal Davison, Programme Director (policy making) at the IfG, and took part in an audience Q&A. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Improving productivity is at the heart of the government’s plans for public services, underpins the ‘strategic and agile state’ and is a critical enabler for many of its ambitions for the future. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has been drawing on experience from the public and private sector to make sure the 2027 spending review consolidates and furthers the government’s productivity drive. This builds on the work already underway within the government through the Office for Value for Money and its departmental target of 2% productivity, efficiencies and savings. But what has the government achieved so far? How is HM Treasury supporting productivity improvements across government and monitoring departmental efficiency plans? What is the Chief Secretary doing to push this agenda on? To explore these questions and to discuss his priorities and approach, the Institute for Government was pleased to be hosting Rt Hon James Murray MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Professor Andy Westwood, Policy Director at The Productivity Institute made opening remarks. James Murray was then in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government. This event was kindly supported by The Productivity Institute (TPI). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our first webinar in a three-part series focused on the findings of Whitehall Monitor 2026. The first Whitehall Monitor webinar – kicking off a three-part series exploring the IfG’s annual flagship report on the civil service – looked at the context in which much needed strategic workforce planning should be taking place: how the size and shape of the civil service has changed in the past year, against a backdrop of multiple exit schemes and a complex recruitment landscape. The webinar featured: Heloise Dunlop, Researcher at the Institute for Government and co-author of Whitehall Monitor 2026 Daniel Howes, Research Assistant at the IfG and co-author of Whitehall Monitor 2026 Liz Tolcher, Associate Partner – Skills & Workforce Transformation Expert at PA Consulting The event was chaired by Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the IfG and lead author of Whitehall Monitor 2026. Whitehall Monitor 2026, the IfG’s annual data-led assessment of the size, shape and performance of the civil service, examines how the workforce changed in 2025. We would like to thank PA Consulting for kindly supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The IfG DevoLab is 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 25 February, in Manchester, we held our fourth IfG DevoLab event, where three speakers set out how the powers and profile of mayors are being used to increase the supply of affordable homes within their regions. The three case studies presented at IfG DevoLab #4 were: ‘Increasing the supply of affordable homes in the West of England’, by Stephen Peacock, Chief Executive of the West of England Combined Authority ‘From housing growth to good growth - experiences delivering housing growth in Greater Manchester’, by Andrew McIntosh, Director of Sustainable Growth & Infrastructure at Greater Manchester Combined Authority ‘Supporting regions to increase the supply of affordable homes’, by Jackie Rigby, Assistant Director - Place, Partnerships and Capacity at Homes England The three speakers were joined by Ben Denton, Head of Strategic Growth – Affordable Housing at L&G, for a broader discussion of the benefits of devolution and mayoral leadership for this agenda, how mayors can support the government make progress toward its challenging house-building targets, and how further devolution could help accelerate the supply of affordable homes. This event was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director 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. The Institute for Government would like to thank L&G for its support of this event and for its wider support of the IfG DevoLab series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The government’s ambitious local government reorganisation (LGR) programme will replace all county and district councils with a single tier of unitary local government. Local authorities have submitted their preferred geographies to central government – but with reportedly 70 submissions across 21 two-tier areas, there is little consensus on the ideal footprints of future unitary authorities. Government is consulting the public and stakeholders, but ultimately it will fall to ministers to make these decisions – requiring potentially contentious judgements. Some local authorities favour fewer, larger geographies that offer greater efficiencies, others smaller councils that keep decision making closer to local communities. Final decisions will create winners and losers, and some outgoing authorities may resist the outcome. So how will these decisions shape the success of incoming unitary authorities? What weighting should ministers give to competing LGR criteria? How can ministers balance consistency of decisions with the need to tailor decisions for local areas? How can the government do this transparently? To answer these questions and more, this IfG event – the first in a new Making a Success of Local Government Reorganisation series – brought together an expert panel, including: Councillor Kay Mason Billig, Leader of Norfolk County Council Joanne Brown, Partner, Public Sector Audit at Grant Thornton UK LLP Dr Matthew Fright, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government. Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton and Hove City Council (joining remotely) This event was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. The Institute for Government would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for their support of this event, the first in a series on how to make a success of local government reorganisation (LGR). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2024, Eluned Morgan MS became the sixth first minister of Wales – and the first woman to hold the role – since the dawn of devolution in 1999. She now leads Welsh Labour into the 2026 Senedd election, which will be held under a new electoral system, and at which Labour faces a double challenge from the rise of Plaid Cymru and Reform. On 22 January, the Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Eluned Morgan to discuss how devolution to Wales has evolved since 1999, her priorities as First Minister, how the Labour governments in Cardiff and Westminster can cooperate on shared goals, and Welsh Labour’s vision for Wales’s constitutional future. The first minister was in conversation with Akash Paun, Programme Director of Devolution at the Institute for Government, followed by a Q&A with the live and online audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump’s second term has been markedly different from his first and has already brought with it the most radical shift in US foreign policy since the Second World War. 2026 has seen Trump ramping up action and rhetoric on multiple fronts with even greater pressure on UK and European leaders to respond. What do the next three years hold for relations between the UK, US and EU? Are current tactics and strategies working for the UK and Europe or do leaders need to change course? Will the prime minister finally be forced to choose between Washington and Brussels? On the first anniversary of Trump’s 2025 inauguration, the Institute for Government and UK In a Changing Europe are delighted to invite you to a panel to discuss these and other questions, with: Sir Simon Fraser, Chair of Flint Global, Chair of Chatham House and former Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2010-15 Fiona Hill, Chancellor of Durham University, Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and former Presidential Adviser on Foreign Affairs Professor Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe This event will be chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government. We would like to thank UK in a Changing Europe for kindly supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. The shadow chancellor delivered a speech, followed by a conversation with Alex Thomas, Executive Director for Impact and Influence at the Institute for Government. Followed by closing remarks from Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government. We would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister discussed why his role spanning both No10 and the Cabinet Office was created and the need to modernise public services. Speaking with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government, he set out the changes being made to the centre of Whitehall to enable the government to drive action more quickly in 2026. We would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. Drawing on brand new IfG research, this panel gave its verdict on the government's attempts to reform the civil service. Whitehall Monitor 2026 presentation from Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the Institute for Government. Followed by a panel discussion featuring: Rt Hon Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester (joining virtually) Lord Michael Gove, Editor of The Spectator and former government minister Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the Institute for Government Rowena Mason, Whitehall Editor at The Guardian This session was chaired by Alex Thomas, Executive Director for Impact and Influence at the Institute for Government. We would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. Baroness Louise Casey, the government's Lead Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care, discused her work across the public sector with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government. We would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The government’s ‘devolution revolution’ in England will see newly-created strategic authorities given greater powers to shape local economic policy through designing and delivering strategies on skills, housing, infrastructure, and transport. This will equip mayors to drive growth, raise living standards and improve services in their areas, while mayoral-led authorities are also expected to influence national economic policy through statutory local growth plans. So how can new authorities – some of which will work across new geographies – develop a well-evidenced and coherent economic strategies? How can places at different stages of development approach this challenge? What role can local businesses, universities, and civil society play in shaping these plans? And how can they best be engaged? Drawing on new IfG research, supported by the University of Surrey, which uses UK and international best practice to set out the development lifecycle of a local economic strategy, this event brough together an expert panel to explore how new strategic authorities can deliver local economic growth. Professor Lisa Collins, Pro Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation at the University of Surrey Dr Rebecca McKee, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government Tom Walker, Interim CEO at Greater Essex Combined County Authority Mayor Claire Ward, Mayor of the East Midlands The event was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. This was followed by a Q&A session and an opportunity to network over lunch with fellow attendees. We would like to thank the University of Surrey for kindly supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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: Tim Durrant, Programme Director for the IfG Ministers work programme Stuart Hoddinott, Associate Director at the IfG Akash Paun, Programme Director for the IfG Devolution work programme Alex Thomas, Programme Director for the IfG Civil Service work programme The webinar was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices