Productivity in public services has never been more important. Most services are struggling to return to pre-pandemic performance levels, and the government has indicated that spending will be tight from April 2026 onwards. Improvements in performance will likely come from frontline workers finding new, innovative ways of delivering services.  

So what can be done to improve productivity? By highlighting outstanding examples of innovation across public services, Productivity Pitches, a series of events hosted by the IfG, aims to share and support ways to improve performance levels.

This event is the fifth in the series and will focus on schools.

Each speaker has 10 minutes to present their innovation, followed by 10 minutes of audience questions. The chair and a guest from the Productivity Institute – who are kindly supporting this event series – then brought together the common themes from the pitches and discuss the lessons for improving productivity.  

The speakers for this edition of Productivity Pitches are:  

George Barlow, Principal of Belgrave St. Bartholomew’s Academy on the outcome of providing every pupil and teacher with a tablet.

Steph Hamilton, Director of The Engagement Platform part of the ImpactEd Group which run frequent School Employee surveys that allows schools and MATs to compare their employee satisfaction to peers and use this to improve engagement, satisfaction and retention and Cara Ackroyd, Executive Principal at Outwood Grange Academies Trust. Cara leads on school engagement work across Outwood Grange Academy Trust. The trust have been founding partners of TEP and have integrated the use of the data into their strategy and processes to support outcomes. 

Lauren Wilson, Head of Marketing and Communications at The Thinking Schools Academy Trust on consolidating communication and marketing functions. Allowing them to standardise their marketing materials and learn what works before rolling it out further.

The event will be chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. Professor Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust and Policy Advisor at The Productivity Institute Policy Unit joined to discuss the common themes.

Productivity Pitches is kindly supported by The Productivity Institute.

Productivity Pitches #5

Decarbonising the power system by 2030 and accelerating to net zero is one of Labour's five key missions. But this extremely ambitious target means moving much faster than the previous government managed. So how much progress has the Labour government already made, and what more could it do to speed up delivery?

The government’s first weeks in office saw it remove restrictions on onshore wind farms and put GB Energy and the National Wealth Fund into motion. So what impact have these actions had? What other steps could the government take to accelerate its missions?  

And with controversial announcements such as a third runway at Heathrow, what are the potential pitfalls to look out for, both to achieving the clean power mission and then accelerating to net zero? 

To answer these questions and more, this IfG event brought together an expert panel, including: 

Rosa Hodgkin, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
Fintan Slye, CEO of the National Energy System Operator
Chris Stark, Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030
Dhara Vyas, CEO of Energy UK
The event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

This event is part of a research project supported by a grant from the European Climate Foundation.

How can the government accelerate its clean power mission?

Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Head of the UK Civil Service Policy Profession, is clear that generalist skills are essential but questions whether it is time to move away from generalists as roles sitting outside of professions. 

Tamara set out current plans for the Policy Profession, which provides a professional home and career anchor for former generalists, and how it is providing a framework for building and improving skills. This was followed by a discussion about how to build the skills they need and how to embed professional expertise in the policy-making process.

For this discussion we were delighted to be joined by:

Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary at Defra and Head of the Civil Service Policy Profession
Aaron Maniam, Fellow of Practice and Director, Digital Transformation Education at the Blavatnik School of Government
Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation

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

The future of the Civil Service Policy Profession: The end of the generalist?

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence, to discuss his priorities for reforming UK defence.

With war in Europe, instability in the Middle East and a new US administration, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has taken centre stage during the Labour government’s first six months in power. But with increasing threats, how will the MOD ensure it stays ahead of the UK’s adversaries and deliver maximum value for taxpayers? How will it contribute to the government’s missions, particularly economic growth?

Healey opened the event with brief remarks on his defence reform programme, after which he was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government, before taking questions from the audience.

In conversation with John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence

Keir Starmer has promised to introduce legislation to parliament – before this April’s anniversary of the Hillsborough football stadium disaster – that would extend a statutory duty of candour to public authorities and officials.

Starmer hopes that the new Hillsborough law, which will require government organisations and officials to be truthful and to proactively co-operate with investigations and inquiries, will “address the unacceptable defensive culture prevalent across too much of the public sector” exposed in the Infected Blood, Post Office Horizon and too many other inquiries.

But how widely will the duty be applied? How can it work alongside other statutory duties such as in the civil service code? What lessons can be taken from the legal duty of candour that has existed, with mixed effect, in the NHS for over 10 years?

To discuss these outstanding questions about the scope and remit of the proposed legislation, and explore how this new duty of candour could help embed a culture of transparency from SW1 to the frontline, we were joined by an expert panel:

Sir Robert Francis KC, Interim Chair of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority
Liz Gardiner, CEO of Protect
Pete Weatherby KC, Director of Hillsborough Law Now Campaign

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


How to legislate for the duty of candour?

As part of its mission to make the UK the fastest-growing economy in the G7, the government has embarked upon a new industrial strategy. Science and innovation feature prominently, with life sciences identified as holding “enormous potential to drive economic growth and productivity” in the decades ahead. So how can this potential be fulfilled? 

The next few months present a window of opportunity for the business sector, expert organisations and government to work together to devise a long-lasting industrial approach. The Institute for Government is convening a panel of experts to discuss how the government can deliver on its science and industrial strategy objectives.

So what can be done to ensure the new industrial strategy can endure when others have not? Where has science and technology helped drive UK economic growth? What should be the balance between directing science and technology explicitly towards driving UK economic growth versus other objectives like boosting health? And what can the UK learn from other countries?  

We were joined by:

Johan Kahlström, President & Managing Director UK & Ireland at Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Lord Vallance, Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation
Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government
Amanda Wolthuizen, Vice-President (Strategic Engagement) and Chief of Staff to the President at Imperial College London

The event was chaired by Thomas Pope, Deputy Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.

Follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) @IfGEvents and join the conversation using #industrialstrategy.

This event was kindly supported by Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK.

How can the government help boost growth in the science-based industries?

With an aim of delivering ‘simpler, more sustainable local government structures, alongside a transfer of power out of Westminster through devolution’, the government has formally invited proposals for local government reorganisation from all two-tier and small neighbouring unitary authorities in England.

Delivering this ambitious agenda will be complex, time-consuming and challenging as local authorities continue to deliver services against a backdrop of financial sustainability and workforce pressures.

So what are the benefits and risks of moving from two-tier to unitary local government? What does past experience teach us about how to successfully reorganise local government? What level of support from the government is needed to aid areas undergoing change? And how might reorganisation help to achieve the government’s devolution ambitions?

To answer these questions and more, this IfG event brought together an expert panel, including:  

Eve Roodhouse, Director of Strategy and Policy at the Local Government Association
Becky Shaw, Chief Executive of East Sussex County Council
Adrian Smith, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire County Council
Phillip Woolley, Partner, Head of Public Sector Consulting at Grant Thornton UK LLP

The event was chaired by Dr Matthew Fright, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government.  

We would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for kindly supporting this event. 

How to make a success of local government reorganisation

Whitehall Monitor 2025 – the Institute for Government’s flagship annual report on the civil service – found that high staff turnover, confused workforce planning, slipping morale and uncompetitive pay will hinder its ability to deliver Labour’s missions, even with an increased headcount and a relentless pressure for greater efficiency and productivity

Keir Starmer and Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden have shown a welcome enthusiasm for Whitehall reform – including a commitment to a “test and learn” mindset and “mission boards” – but little will change until long-running civil service challenges, like excessive staff turnover and falling morale, are resolved.

This webinar – the first in a three-part series focusing on Whitehall Monitor’s findings – examined the size and shape of the civil service, including the growth of Whitehall departments since 2016 and the changing structure and composition of the workforce.

The webinar featured:

Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
Liz Tolcher, Workforce Transformation Expert at PA Consulting
Jack Worlidge, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government and lead author of Whitehall Monitor 2025

The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank PA Consulting for supporting both this event and Whitehall Monitor 2025.

The state of the civil service: size and shape

The Labour government wants mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) to play a leading role in delivering faster economic growth – so what can ministers do to help MCAs achieve success in this mission?  

With an expanding set of devolved transport, skills, housing and planning powers, MCAs are well-placed to drive regional growth – but success is not a given. To capitalise on their potential, MCAs need effective decision-making structures, sufficient institutional capacity, and strong accountability mechanisms.

The government’s devolution white paper sets out proposals to reform the capacity, accountability, and decision-making processes of MCAs, but do these reforms go far enough? What are the potential risks? And what more can the government do to support MCAs to succeed?

To answer these questions, we were joined by:

Amy Harhoff, Chief Executive of the East Midlands Combined County Authority
Rebecca McKee, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
Jim McMahon MP, Minister for Local Government and English Devolution
Laura Shoaf, Chief Executive of the West Midlands Combined Authority
This event was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.  

Introductory remarks were also be delivered by Robert Breedon, Partner and Co-leader of Government Sector at Gowling WLG. 

We would like to thank Gowling WLG for kindly supporting this event. 

How can the government support mayoral combined authorities to deliver economic growth?

Whitehall Monitor 2025 – the Institute for Government’s flagship annual report on the civil service – found that high staff turnover, confused workforce planning, slipping morale and uncompetitive pay will hinder its ability to deliver Labour’s missions, even with an increasing headcount and a relentless pressure for greater efficiency and productivity

Keir Starmer and Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden have shown a welcome enthusiasm for Whitehall reform – including a commitment to a “test and learn” mindset and “mission boards” – but little will change until long-running civil service challenges, like excessive staff turnover and falling morale, are resolved.

This webinar – the second in a three-part series focusing on the report’s findings – examined civil service recruitment practices and discuss what is driving the staff turnover levels across Whitehall.

The webinar featured:

Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government

Liz Tolcher, Workforce Transformation Expert at PA Consulting

Jack Worlidge, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government and lead author of Whitehall Monitor 2025

The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank PA Consulting for supporting both this event and Whitehall Monitor 2025.

The state of the civil service: recruitment and turnover

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The future of the Civil Service Policy Profession: The end of the generalist?

Institute for Government

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