Institute for Government
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The leading think tank working to make government more effective.
Institute for Government
2d ago
AI-generated ‘deepfake’ audio clips of both London mayor Sadiq Khan and leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer have circulated on social media. A faked robocall impersonating Joe Biden was sent to voters before a primary election. The number of AI-enhanced images of politicians is increasing. In a year when over two billion people in more than 50 countries will vote in elections, the use of AI technology – more widely accessible than ever – and disinformation could have a major impact on trust and integrity. So what can be done to tackle this growing problem? What can political parties, gov ..read more
Institute for Government
2d ago
Just a few hours after Jeremy Hunt sets out his spring budget, a team of Institute for Government experts gathered in the IfG studio to record a special edition of the Inside Briefing podcast. Olly Bartrum, Jill Rutter, Dr Gemma Tetlow and Giles Wilkes gave their instant reaction to the budget and shared expert analysis of a major day for the country. What have we learned from the chancellor’s big announcements and what choices did he make? What did the new OBR forecasts show about the UK’s economic prospects? What did it mean for public services? How did Labour respond? And how might this bud ..read more
Institute for Government
6d ago
Public services have faced the greatest level of disruption from strikes in more than a quarter of a century. Over the past year nurses, ambulance drivers, teachers, junior doctors, consultants, and civil servants, among others, have all staged walkouts to protest against pay and working conditions. While improved pay offers from Rishi Sunak’s government have resolved many disputes, some staff are still on the picket line and other disputes could flare up again. So what impact has recent industrial disputes had on public service performance? What skills do ministers, civil servants, frontline ..read more
Institute for Government
6d ago
The Treasury is perhaps the most powerful department in Whitehall. Its ownership of public spending means it has direct control over the money available to the rest of government, while the Treasury’s responsibility for tax policy gives it enormous influence over the finances of households and businesses. But criticism of the department’s influence on government policy is almost as old as the institution itself, with frequent complaints about the “dead hand of the Treasury” or attacks on the department’s “orthodoxy”. However, a recent IfG report found many of the fiercest criticisms to be over ..read more
Institute for Government
6d ago
Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve. Data Bites aims to change that. This event was the 49th in our series, where the speakers present their work in an exciting, quickfire format ..read more
Institute for Government
6d ago
Fraud is the UK’s most common crime. But despite 3.5 million incidents reported in 2022/23, 40% of all reported crimes, only one in a thousand results in a charge or summons. So why is there such a huge gap between preventing, detecting and prosecuting this crime – and what can be done to fix the problem? A wide range of organisations have responsibility for tackling fraud, including the Home Office, National Crime Agency, Serious Fraud Office, City of London Police, Metropolitan Police Service, Financial Conduct Authority and the National Cyber Security Centre. However, there are problems wit ..read more
Institute for Government
1w ago
As he prepares to step down as Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Alex Chisholm spoke at the Institute for Government for his final time as a civil servant. During nearly a decade at the top of the civil service as a permanent secretary, Alex served four prime ministers and worked with three cabinet secretaries, covering eventful and tumultuous times. After four years as permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in 2020 Alex moved to his current role at the heart of the civil service. Having pl ..read more
Institute for Government
1w ago
The future of the UK asylum system could dominate the 2024 general election campaign. The prime minister has made his controversial Rwanda plan a flagship part of the government’s agenda, while Labour has committed to reforming the asylum system as part of its plan to tackle Channel crossings. Rishi Sunak pledged to clear the legacy asylum backlog by the end of 2023, but the sizeable backlog of people waiting for a decision remains – with the government struggling to deal with new asylum cases and problems elsewhere in the system. So what are these problems? Does the government have a coherent ..read more
Institute for Government
2w ago
Political parties are increasingly focusing their energy and resources on the approaching general election campaign. The pace will be relentless. The atmosphere will be increasingly fraught. So as the campaign intensifies, how can think tanks make themselves heard – and help to shape policy and political debate? A dramatic – and sometimes chaotic – decade in British politics has brought new challenges to think tanks. Different think tanks, with a range of political views and policy priorities, play different roles – but how has their work evolved in recent years? What level of influence do the ..read more
Institute for Government
2w ago
Fixing the centre of government by Institute for Government ..read more