Public bodies
We look at public bodies, their role in government and how they can be made more effective.
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How does the OBR estimate the demand impact of government policies?
The role of fiscal multipliers in economic forecasting.
Improving accountability in government procurement
The PPE and Horizon scandals show the need for better procurement practices in government.
The government should use the appointment of a new national security adviser to set a new strategy
Refreshing the UK's approach to national security would be a welcome and timely move.
Whitehall and AI: how can government move from promising pilots to real results?
Poor data infrastructure and a lack of agreement on evaluation could hold back otherwise promising AI innovations in government.
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It's time to rewrite the government's outdated tests for creating and closing public bodies.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.
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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 explained
Public bodies
Public bodies deliver a public or government service, though not as a ministerial department.
Public bodies: governance and funding
How public bodies' objectives are set, and the funding and other constraints within which they must operate.
Public bodies: scrutiny and accountability
How public bodies are scrutinised and held accountable for performance, as well as how they can be directed by ministers.
Whitehall Monitor 2022
Major reform is needed for government to respond to crises like the pandemic while simultaneously delivering long-term policy goals.
Chartered public bodies
A royal charter is a document issued by the monarch that gives independent legal standing to an organisation.
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