This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how a decade of cuts and rising demand for social care affected local services. England’s most deprived areas were hit by the largest local authority spending cuts during a decade of austerity. In a week in which elections are being held in 144...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the Energy Security Strategy and its short-term and long-term implications. The government claims its new energy strategy will boost the UK’s ‘energy security’ Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spurred deep concern about energy security across Europe. This is largely because many EU member...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the 12 missions and whether they are clear and measurable. The government’s 12 levelling up ‘missions’ – targets to be achieved by 2030 across a range of policy areas from crime to health to housing – will not reduce regional inequality. The missions...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how ministers and officials should use messaging apps – and how they shouldn’t. The government must address the inconsistent guidance – or in some cases no guidance at all – for how ministers, special advisers and civil servants use WhatsApp. Banning WhatsApp in...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at what the government could do to manage a possible cut-off of gas from Russia. The sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine in February have had a devastating impact on its economy. Most severe was the move to reduce the Russian...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the government's plans to redirect its £2.4bn budget away from payments. By setting high expectations for post-Brexit agricultural support, the government risks its reforms being seen as a failure by some (if not all) of farmers, environmentalists, taxpayers and consumers. This report analyses...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at lessons for public bodies from the pandemic response in health. Leadership in a crisis like the pandemic must come from bodies across the public sector, not just from the centre of government. This requires ministers doing more to understand how arm’s-length bodies (ALBs)...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at a new statutory role to clarify the civil service's purpose. The civil service urgently needs a new statutory role to clarify its purpose, reinforce its standing, enhance its accountability, and to strengthen the partnership between ministers and civil servants upon which government depends....

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the causes of persistent failures and how government could change to make policy better. Successive governments have struggled to tackle many of the biggest policy problems the country faces. This report examines the causes of persistent failures and sets out recommendations as to...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at what worked, what didn’t and what next for the Gove reforms. A decade since Michael Gove passed legislation allowing all schools to convert to academy status, this report sets out a programme of reform to build a coherent all-academy system. It argues that...