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

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

This Institute for Government webinar brought instant expert analysis of the prime minister’s plans to radically overhaul the British state.

Ahead of his speech, Keir Starmer told officials he wants to unshackle them from bureaucracy to stop their talent being "constrained”, and to create an “agile, mission-focused and more productive” civil service.

But planned job cuts across the civil service and a clampdown on quangos and regulators have seen the government’s reform blueprint dubbed “Operation Chainsaw” – echoing Elon Musk’s DOGE plans for reforming the US government.

So what is in the PM’s plan? What will it mean for delivering Labour’s missions and its milestones? What should civil servants expect in the coming weeks and months? And how can Whitehall leaders best put the government’s reform agenda into action?

To discuss these questions and more, we were joined by an expert panel including:

Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
Dr Matthew Gill, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the Institute for Government
The event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

What is Keir Starmer’s new plan for government reform?

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 third in a three-part series focusing on the report’s findings – examined the relationship between civil service pay and the shift in grade structure since 2010, as well as trends in officials’ morale.

The webinar featured:

Teodor Grama, Research Assistant at the Institute for Government
Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the Institute for Government
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.

The state of the civil service: location, grade, pay and morale

Keir Starmer has said that “nothing less than the complete re-wiring of the British state” is needed for the public sector – and in particular the civil service – to deliver the government’s agenda. So what should this transformation look like – and how can it be made to last?

As the government’s former lead Non-Executive Director, Michael Jary CBE worked closely with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Cabinet Secretary, the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer, as well as other senior civil servants across government, and has an unparalleled view on what works in Whitehall – and beyond – and what needs to change. In a speech at the IfG, he set out his views on what needs to change – and how this change can be embedded throughout the civil service – before taking part in a panel conversation.

Alongside Michael, we were be joined by:

Josie Cluer, Partner, People Advisory Services at Ernst & Young LLP
Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Quin, former Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office 
The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government.

How can government be transformed?

This special event considered the recommendations of the Institute’s 2024 Commission on the Centre of Government in light of our analysis of the Labour government’s first year in office and the prime minister’s agenda to reform public services and rewire the state.

The Chair of the Institute, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, spok on government reform and the civil service – offering his valedictory reflections as he steps down from the role this summer. Lord Sainsbury’s speech was followed by a presentation of the Institute’s key recommendations on civil service reform, discussion with a panel of senior IfG staff and incoming IfG Chair Sir Ian Cheshire, and audience questions.

This important event highlighted the relevance of the Institute’s existing research to the government’s vital reform agenda and previewed our future research plans.

Welcome and opening remarks
Dr Hannah White OBE, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government

Speech
Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Chairman of the Board at the Institute for Government

Q&A
Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Chairman of the Board at the Institute for Government
Sir Ian Cheshire, Deputy Chair of the Board at the Institute for Government

Presentation
Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government  

Panel discussion
Sir Jonathan Jones KCB KC (Hon), Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government
Alex Thomas, Programme Director for the civil service at the Institute for Government
Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government

This panel was chaired by Dr Hannah White OBE, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government.

Rewiring the state: Welcome and opening remarks, and speech by Lord Sainsbury

Rewiring the state: Q&A with Lord Sainsbury and Sir Ian Cheshire

Rewiring the state: Presentation

Rewiring the state: Panel discussion

Mikel Herrington is a veteran of both AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps. We explore curiosity as the underpinning that brings people into civil service, reciprocal curiosity across cultural and experiential divides, humility, humor, how service allows room for listening, and why someone might carry a pecan for years...

Theme music by Sean Balick; "Home, Home at Last" by Warmbody, via Blue Dot Sessions.

Ep. #288: Celebrating Curiosity & Civil Service, with Mikel Herrington

Choose to be Curious is a show all about curiosity. We talk about research and theory, but mostly it's conversations about how curiosity shows up in work and life.  

Now syndicated and available via Pacifica RadioNetwork.

The leading think tank working to make UK government more effective. 

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New tracks tagged #civil service