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njdavies.bsky.social
Nick Davies
@njdavies.bsky.social
8.8K followers 820 following 650 posts
Programme Director at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk working on public services
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Nick Davies @njdavies.bsky.social · 6d
NEW: Labour inherited public services in crisis. Performance had fallen, investment had been cut + spending plans were undeliverable.

It's made some progress, providing stability and positive long-term plans. But it has been undermined by poor prep in opposition and lack of co-ordination in govt 🧵
RAG table showing ratings for 9 public services. It includes the following summaries for progress since the 2024 election: General practice - Progress on salaried GPs, but no steps taken to make partnership more attractive Hospitals - Government has set out high-level ambitions and reduced competing priorities, but no detail of implementation Adult social care - Largely ignored. Ending the care visa route without a workable solution for Fair Pay Agreements could cause workforce shortages Children's social care - Government has set out a clear and ambitious vision for reform and has backed it with relatively generous funding Homelessness - Early signs are encouraging, but government has yet to set out its homelessness strategy Schools - Government's plan to reduce inequalities in schools and tackle teacher shortages are unclear, and the crisis in SEND services casts a long shadow Police - Government has made limited progress in increasing neighbourhood officer numbers and has yet to announce details of planned reforms Criminal Courts - Increasing court sitting days was welcome, if done too late, but the government has yet to announce a longer-term plan Prisons - Rapid action addressed the immediate population crisis, but there has been limited progress towards a longer-term solution
Reposted by Nick Davies
hpiandycowper.bsky.social
Thanks Nick. Temporarily unpaywalled. www.healthpolicyinsight.com/cowpers-cut-...
Cowper’s Cut 403: It’s a big mess, you say?
“In Whitehall we were very worried about the promises they (Labour) made before the election on not raising taxes because we obviously knew the true state of the public finances that would face them o...
www.healthpolicyinsight.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
cathhaddon.bsky.social
It feels like budget has been going for weeks but a good live-blog starts the day before. Lots from @instituteforgovernment.org.uk before the big day

▪️What has govt already announced?
▪️Will they change fiscal strategy?
▪️What to look out for on tax?

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/au...
LIVE BLOG | Autumn budget 2025: Rachel Reeves prepares to announce tax measures | Institute for Government
IfG experts analyse Reeves' budget and explore what the chancellor's plans for the economy, tax and spending mean.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 25, 2025 at 5:07 PM
njdavies.bsky.social
Another great edition of @hpiandycowper.bsky.social's newsletter. This week it features the Covid inquiry, @instituteforgovernment.org.uk analysis of the NHS, and the brutal PAC report on reducing elective waiting times

www.healthpolicyinsight.com/cowpers-cut-...
IfG report finds health is in a mess The Institute For Government’s annual ‘Public Services Tracker’ has become another key part of the public sector landscape. Its sections on health, linked at the top in the R&RR list below, tell us things about the English NHS with which ‘Cut’ readers are wearily familiar. That doesn’t make them less valuable, of course. The IfG’s considerable reputation makes these things much harder to ignore. Its review describes the ‘triple shift’ ambitions as being “admirable aims. But they are also reforms that previous governments have attempted and largely failed to deliver. Streeting will need to overcome substantial institutional, financial, and political barriers to deliver his promises”. It is fair on the government’s record since the 2024 general election, calling it “mixed. There have been minor performance improvements in hospitals, a fall in hospital staff turnover, and a substantial uptick in the number of salaried GPs. “At the same time, there is evidence of increasing financial pressure in hospital trusts, industrial action by resident doctors is once again dampening activity, and the government has forced the service to focus time and money on abolishing NHS England (NHSE), reorganising integrated care boards and making redundancies, at the expense of a focus on improving performance.”
November 25, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
gilesyb.bsky.social
oh, I appear to have started a Substack by accident gileswilkes.substack.com/p/the-fiscal...
the fiscal rules, again?
people don't like them. Their better ideas just recreate them
gileswilkes.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
stuarthoddinott.bsky.social
One of my favourite charts from this year's Performance Tracker

Each dot shows a trust's bed occupancy in a given month

What's notable is how little variation there is across the country and across time

Go into any hospital in any month and you will find almost every bed is occupied
November 24, 2025 at 11:56 AM
njdavies.bsky.social
Great column by @sonia-sodha.bsky.social on Labour's efforts to improve public services. They inherited a mess, but should have done far more in opposition to prepare for government

www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Text reading: Let’s leave aside the inconvenient truth that a gift for connecting with people is fundamental to the job of leading a country. I would have more time for this pitch if evidence of all this competence was starting to bud. Unfortunately for Starmer, a report from the Institute for Government (IFG) this week laid bare just how poorly ministers are doing in turning around Britain’s creaking public services. To be fair, as with the economy, Labour inherited a mess: schools, hospitals, prisons, courts and beyond underfunded, lacking in capital investment and with many having undergone expensive reorganisations that actively made things worse. Erosions in frontline pay of 10-20 per cent lowered staff morale and piqued the propensity to strike. And all while demand for public services has risen, as a result of the pandemic but also a funding doom loop in which cuts to preventative health and children’s services create greater need for more expensive acute services, further reducing cash for preventative services.
November 24, 2025 at 8:55 AM
njdavies.bsky.social
Just finished Don’t Burn Anyone at the Stake Today by @naomialderman.bsky.social and can’t recommend it enough. Describing the current moment as an information crisis explains so much about why so many people are losing their minds online. But it also provides ideas for how we get through this
November 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
gemmatetlow.bsky.social
Hot on the heels of yesterday's Covid inquiry report on decision making, @shaina-sangha.bsky.social and I have a new report out today looking at how combined epidemiological-economic modelling could help government better prepare for future pandemics www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Combined epidemiological and economic modelling | Institute for Government
The pandemic showed the need for government to improve its use of modelling.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 21, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
stuarthoddinott.bsky.social
A chart that surprised me: NHS staff absences for mental health reasons are at record highs, above pandemic levels

Absences for that reason have grown far faster than the combination of other reasons since 2016

Staff were absent for 1.4% of all working days for mental health reasons in YE May 2025
November 20, 2025 at 9:34 AM
njdavies.bsky.social
The government has established a new public services cabinet committee. It will be chaired by Darren Jones, with Streeting, Phillipson and Reed also permanent members.

Yesterday we called for govt to urgently establish a cross-govt approach to public services, so this is potentially promising
November 20, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
sophiemetcalfe.bsky.social
NEW: Report from me and @nehaldavison.bsky.social on how and why boys from low-income families get left behind in their early years
🧵⬇️
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
The opportunity gap facing boys from low-income families at age 5 and beyond | Institute for Government
Early attainment gaps mean some boys don't just start behind, they stay behind.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 20, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
russellwebster.com
What progress has Labour made on public services?
@cassiarowland.bsky.social from @instituteforgovernment.org.uk sums up overall government performance in the last of her series of performance tracker guest posts.
www.russellwebster.com/what-progres...
What progress has Labour made on public services?
Cassia Rowland from the Institute for Government sums up overall government performance in the last of her series of performance tracker guest posts.
www.russellwebster.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
stuarthoddinott.bsky.social
NEW REPORT: performance in hospitals in England declined to record lows under the last govt

Labour won the election promising to turn the NHS around

How are they doing?

🧵👇

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Performance Tracker 2025: Hospitals | Institute for Government
Hospital performance is trending gently upwards. But tight finances in hospital trusts will constrain further efforts.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 19, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
njdavies.bsky.social
NEW: Labour inherited public services in crisis. Performance had fallen, investment had been cut + spending plans were undeliverable.

It's made some progress, providing stability and positive long-term plans. But it has been undermined by poor prep in opposition and lack of co-ordination in govt 🧵
RAG table showing ratings for 9 public services. It includes the following summaries for progress since the 2024 election: General practice - Progress on salaried GPs, but no steps taken to make partnership more attractive Hospitals - Government has set out high-level ambitions and reduced competing priorities, but no detail of implementation Adult social care - Largely ignored. Ending the care visa route without a workable solution for Fair Pay Agreements could cause workforce shortages Children's social care - Government has set out a clear and ambitious vision for reform and has backed it with relatively generous funding Homelessness - Early signs are encouraging, but government has yet to set out its homelessness strategy Schools - Government's plan to reduce inequalities in schools and tackle teacher shortages are unclear, and the crisis in SEND services casts a long shadow Police - Government has made limited progress in increasing neighbourhood officer numbers and has yet to announce details of planned reforms Criminal Courts - Increasing court sitting days was welcome, if done too late, but the government has yet to announce a longer-term plan Prisons - Rapid action addressed the immediate population crisis, but there has been limited progress towards a longer-term solution
November 19, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
jonhazan.net
Lack of planning has hit Labour’s efforts to fix public services, says Institute for Government. @njdavies.bsky.social not pulling any punches here in this dire assessment of Starmer’s performance

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Lack of planning has hit Labour’s efforts to fix public services, says thinktank
Keir Starmer accused of failing to adequately strategise while in opposition, leading to uncoordinated policymaking
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:51 PM
njdavies.bsky.social
It's snowing in Westminster on the same day that we've published the final chapters of Public Service Performance Tracker 2025. Truly, this is like Christmas day for the IFG public services team
njdavies.bsky.social Nick Davies @njdavies.bsky.social · 6d
NEW: Labour inherited public services in crisis. Performance had fallen, investment had been cut + spending plans were undeliverable.

It's made some progress, providing stability and positive long-term plans. But it has been undermined by poor prep in opposition and lack of co-ordination in govt 🧵
RAG table showing ratings for 9 public services. It includes the following summaries for progress since the 2024 election: General practice - Progress on salaried GPs, but no steps taken to make partnership more attractive Hospitals - Government has set out high-level ambitions and reduced competing priorities, but no detail of implementation Adult social care - Largely ignored. Ending the care visa route without a workable solution for Fair Pay Agreements could cause workforce shortages Children's social care - Government has set out a clear and ambitious vision for reform and has backed it with relatively generous funding Homelessness - Early signs are encouraging, but government has yet to set out its homelessness strategy Schools - Government's plan to reduce inequalities in schools and tackle teacher shortages are unclear, and the crisis in SEND services casts a long shadow Police - Government has made limited progress in increasing neighbourhood officer numbers and has yet to announce details of planned reforms Criminal Courts - Increasing court sitting days was welcome, if done too late, but the government has yet to announce a longer-term plan Prisons - Rapid action addressed the immediate population crisis, but there has been limited progress towards a longer-term solution
November 19, 2025 at 9:18 AM
njdavies.bsky.social
NEW: Labour inherited public services in crisis. Performance had fallen, investment had been cut + spending plans were undeliverable.

It's made some progress, providing stability and positive long-term plans. But it has been undermined by poor prep in opposition and lack of co-ordination in govt 🧵
RAG table showing ratings for 9 public services. It includes the following summaries for progress since the 2024 election: General practice - Progress on salaried GPs, but no steps taken to make partnership more attractive Hospitals - Government has set out high-level ambitions and reduced competing priorities, but no detail of implementation Adult social care - Largely ignored. Ending the care visa route without a workable solution for Fair Pay Agreements could cause workforce shortages Children's social care - Government has set out a clear and ambitious vision for reform and has backed it with relatively generous funding Homelessness - Early signs are encouraging, but government has yet to set out its homelessness strategy Schools - Government's plan to reduce inequalities in schools and tackle teacher shortages are unclear, and the crisis in SEND services casts a long shadow Police - Government has made limited progress in increasing neighbourhood officer numbers and has yet to announce details of planned reforms Criminal Courts - Increasing court sitting days was welcome, if done too late, but the government has yet to announce a longer-term plan Prisons - Rapid action addressed the immediate population crisis, but there has been limited progress towards a longer-term solution
November 19, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Buckle up for tomorrow's packed schedule‼️
Starting with: How successfully have Labour run public services?

@cassiarowland.bsky.social @amberdellar.bsky.social @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social @njdavies.bsky.social @markwfranks.bsky.social

🎟️
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/labour...
November 18, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The government has announced that it is going to abolish police and crime commissioners.

But the benefits of new ‘policing boards’ over PCCs are far from clear www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/poli...
Abolishing police and crime commissioners now is putting the cart before the horse | Institute for Government
The benefits of new ‘policing boards’ over police and crime commissioners are far from clear.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
jamesmkemp.bsky.social
I did service design on the passport service in 2015 (other people built that, and others make it continue to work well give them the credit).

Other public services could do that if they had a senior with vision. I think the success in HMPO was the senior leadership allowing us to do new things.
November 18, 2025 at 8:06 AM
njdavies.bsky.social
Given I spend much of my time describing poor public service performance in great detail, I feel I should note how good the passport renewal service is. 1 adult and 1 child passport returned exactly one week after I posted the old ones. And that's using the normal service, not the quick turnaround
November 18, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Nick Davies
drmatthewgill.bsky.social
1/5 In this paper for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk, I evaluate the government’s efforts to make regulation and regulators more supportive of growth: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Regulation and growth | Institute for Government
What is in the government's new action plan?
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 14, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
marialaura-lacorte.bsky.social
The NHS section of Performance Tracker 2025 by @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social is live on the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's website, with new analysis on general practice and hospital performance in England.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Performance Tracker 2025: NHS | Institute for Government
NHS performance is improving, but a complex and haphazardly planned reform package might slow progress.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 17, 2025 at 10:43 AM
njdavies.bsky.social
I'm chairing an @instituteforgovernment.org.uk event tomorrow on how changes to NHS technology help deliver the 10 Year Health Plan.

Register here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/nhs-te...
November 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Nick Davies
stuarthoddinott.bsky.social
NEW REPORT: the govt has been running the NHS in England for 16 months

So how are they doing?

Tl;dr there are some signs of progress, but the overall approach to reforming the service has been chaotic, with little coherence between policies

🧵👇

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
Performance Tracker 2025: NHS | Institute for Government
NHS performance is improving, but a complex and haphazardly planned reform package might slow progress.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 16, 2025 at 2:47 PM