Institute for Government

Coronavirus has led to the rapid adoption of technologies that have been contemplated for years but had not been widely used before the crisis. There has been a fundamental shift towards delivering services remotely, such as school lessons, NHS appointments, and court hearings being conducted via video, telephone and text messages. Without this, many services would have ground to a halt. What impact has the increased use of technology had on the quality, efficiency and accessibility of public services? This event was part of the IfG's fringe events programme at the 2021 Labour Party Conference in Brighton. Speakers: • Chi Onwurah MP, Shadow Minister for Science, Research and Digital • Steve Black, Chief Analyst, askmyGP • Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice • Elaine Whyte, Partner at PA Consulting This event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. Kindly supported by PA Consulting.

Science has played a key role in the Covid crisis, and the pandemic has shone a light on the way government accesses, uses and communicates scientific evidence and data. This panel discussed the lessons learned and how the government can use science effectively to achieve its aim of making the UK a “science superpower”. This event was part of the IfG's fringe events programme at the 2021 Labour Party Conference in Brighton. Speakers: Ayesha Hazarika, broadcaster and political commentator Professor Mary Ryan FREng, Interim Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial College London Sir Mark Walport, Fellow at The Royal Society and chair of the Imperial College Academic Health Science Centre This event was chaired by Tom Sasse, Associate Director at the Institute for Government. Kindly supported by Imperial College London and the Royal Society.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/levelling-up-or-catching-up-what-next-for-public-services

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/levelling-up-or-catching-up-what-next-for-public-services

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/levelling-up-or-catching-up-what-next-for-public-services

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/levelling-up-or-catching-up-what-next-for-public-services

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/levelling-up-or-catching-up-what-next-for-public-services

The pandemic has hit public services hard, creating backlogs - from children missing out on school lessons, to cancelled hospital operations and unheard court cases – and leaving local authorities facing budget shortfalls. But as the government focuses on post-pandemic economic recovery, its priority is to ‘level up’ parts of the country which have fallen behind in terms of economic growth, opportunity, and wellbeing. With limited resources, how can public services both address backlogs and ‘level up’? Has the pandemic made levelling up harder for public services? How, if at all, can public services contribute to levelling up? What should the government do to help them both catch-up and level-up? To discuss these questions and more, the IfG was delighted to host an expert panel including: Baroness Armstrong, Chair of the House of Lords Public Services Committee Saffron Cordery, Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Providers Georgina Cox, Partner at PA Consulting Rachel Wolf, Founding Partner at Public First and former Education and Innovation Adviser to David Cameron. The event was chaired by Graham Atkins, Associate Director at the Institute for Government. We would like to thank PA Consulting for kindly supporting this event.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/rail-reform What is Great British Railways? How will it end rail industry fragmentation? And how can it deliver a rail network that works for customers, taxpayers, politicians, and the wider public? The new organisation is at the heart of the William-Shapps Plan for Rail, which reported in May. Keith Williams, Chair of the Review, describes the British railway network as a “complex Rubik’s cube” and says Great British Railways should be a central ‘guiding mind’ in a reformed rail system. This event explored how to make a reformed rail network work for Great Britain’s long-term post-pandemic future, drawing on lessons from previous attempts at reshaping the rail industry and experiences of setting up arms-length bodies elsewhere. Our panel: Keith Williams, independent Chair of the Williams Review The Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group The event was chaired by Dr Matthew Gill, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. We are grateful to The Rail Delivery Group for their support with this event.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/rail-reform What is Great British Railways? How will it end rail industry fragmentation? And how can it deliver a rail network that works for customers, taxpayers, politicians, and the wider public? The new organisation is at the heart of the William-Shapps Plan for Rail, which reported in May. Keith Williams, Chair of the Review, describes the British railway network as a “complex Rubik’s cube” and says Great British Railways should be a central ‘guiding mind’ in a reformed rail system. This event explored how to make a reformed rail network work for Great Britain’s long-term post-pandemic future, drawing on lessons from previous attempts at reshaping the rail industry and experiences of setting up arms-length bodies elsewhere. Our panel: Keith Williams, independent Chair of the Williams Review The Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group The event was chaired by Dr Matthew Gill, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. We are grateful to The Rail Delivery Group for their support with this event.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/rail-reform What is Great British Railways? How will it end rail industry fragmentation? And how can it deliver a rail network that works for customers, taxpayers, politicians, and the wider public? The new organisation is at the heart of the William-Shapps Plan for Rail, which reported in May. Keith Williams, Chair of the Review, describes the British railway network as a “complex Rubik’s cube” and says Great British Railways should be a central ‘guiding mind’ in a reformed rail system. This event explored how to make a reformed rail network work for Great Britain’s long-term post-pandemic future, drawing on lessons from previous attempts at reshaping the rail industry and experiences of setting up arms-length bodies elsewhere. Our panel: Keith Williams, independent Chair of the Williams Review The Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group The event was chaired by Dr Matthew Gill, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. We are grateful to The Rail Delivery Group for their support with this event.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/rail-reform What is Great British Railways? How will it end rail industry fragmentation? And how can it deliver a rail network that works for customers, taxpayers, politicians, and the wider public? The new organisation is at the heart of the William-Shapps Plan for Rail, which reported in May. Keith Williams, Chair of the Review, describes the British railway network as a “complex Rubik’s cube” and says Great British Railways should be a central ‘guiding mind’ in a reformed rail system. This event explored how to make a reformed rail network work for Great Britain’s long-term post-pandemic future, drawing on lessons from previous attempts at reshaping the rail industry and experiences of setting up arms-length bodies elsewhere. Our panel: Keith Williams, independent Chair of the Williams Review The Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group The event was chaired by Dr Matthew Gill, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. We are grateful to The Rail Delivery Group for their support with this event.

What is Great British Railways? How will it end rail industry fragmentation? And how can it deliver a rail network that works for customers, taxpayers, politicians, and the wider public? The new organisation is at the heart of the William-Shapps Plan for Rail, which reported in May. Keith Williams, Chair of the Review, describes the British railway network as a “complex Rubik’s cube” and says Great British Railways should be a central ‘guiding mind’ in a reformed rail system. This event explored how to make a reformed rail network work for Great Britain’s long-term post-pandemic future, drawing on lessons from previous attempts at reshaping the rail industry and experiences of setting up arms-length bodies elsewhere. Our panel: Keith Williams, independent Chair of the Williams Review The Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish, former Secretary of State for Transport and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Maria Machancoses, CEO of Midlands Connect Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group The event was chaired by Dr Matthew Gill, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. We are grateful to The Rail Delivery Group for their support with this event.