Public bodies
We look at public bodies, their role in government and how they can be made more effective.
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Putting analysis and assessment at the heart of government
It is not only during crises that good analysis and assessment is vital.
The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill
How will the government’s new Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill work?
Whitehall Monitor 2024
Our annual, data-based assessment of the UK civil service, how it has changed and performed over the past year, and its priorities for the future.
How can Ombuds schemes be reformed?
Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, Sandra Verkuyten OBE, Patrick Vernon OBE, Rosemary Agnew and Rob Behrens CBE joined us to discuss the next steps for Ombuds reform.
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Life cycle of a public body
When should public bodies exist?
It's time to rewrite the government's outdated tests for creating and closing public bodies.
Licence to lead: lessons for public bodies from the pandemic response in health
Government should trust public bodies to lead in crises.
Establishing new public bodies – what have we learnt?
Practitioners and experts from economic and trade bodies discuss the lessons from their experience of setting up new public bodies.
Watch the event
Public appointments
Public appointments in 2023
There has been some promising progress in improving the public appointments system, but it remains vulnerable to abuse.
Reforming public appointments
How the new prime minister can make public appointments faster and fairer, by reforming an often chaotic public appointments process.
The public appointments process
How the public appointments process is run and who plays a role in it.
The appointment and conduct of departmental NEDs
Gina Coladangelo’s role as a departmental non-executive director has exposed the growing need to clarify rules around appointment and conduct.
Public bodies reform
Public bodies reform
The Declaration on Government Reform published in June 2021 committed the government to “commence a review programme for Arm’s Length Bodies".
IfG response to the Maude review on civil service reform
The Maude review will be an important reference document for whoever lives in No.10.
The government would be wrong to wage another war on ‘quangos’
Government should be more specific about what it wants public bodies to deliver and where it can do without them.
Earlier IfG work on public bodies
Read Before Burning
Our recommendations for increasing the effectiveness and accountability of arm's-length bodies.
It takes two
Our report looks at what is needed for effective relations between government departments and arm’s-length bodies.
Out of the Ashes
What recommendations the next government should act on to truly reform arm’s-length government in the UK.
The Strange Case of Non-Ministerial Departments
A deeper look at this obscure category of government bodies, which cover organisations from the Royal Mint to the National Crime Agency.
Our public bodies team
Matthew Gill
Programme Director
Six lessons government should learn from the Post Office scandal
Maddy Bishop
Researcher
House of Lords report provides clear direction for regulatory reform
Callum Parris
Research Assistant