IfG Events

Five years on from the merger of the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development, this is a pivotal moment for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The government is managing the reduction in the international aid budget, the department is undergoing a major restructuring, and its permanent secretary was sacked by the prime minister.

With fewer resources, evolving security threats and diplomatic challenges, the government should be seizing this moment to integrate diplomacy and development.

Recent research from the HALO Trust and the Eleanor Crook Foundation has shown how modern conflict is increasingly interconnected with challenges such as food security and malnutrition – and that unless these and other pressures are addressed in a genuinely joined‑up way, the UK risks operating in siloes.

But how joined up is diplomacy and development, and can the department both retain its leadership role in international development and protect the UK’s national interest?

How should the Foreign Office approach these challenges when staff numbers are falling and its budget is shrinking? What principles should guide the merged department through this time of change? And what is the government’s overall approach to UK foreign policy and development and how is it seeking to achieve it aims?

Drawing on the IfG’s existing and ongoing research and commentary on the FCDO and its predecessors, and a series of previous successful events on similar themes, this event explored these questions and more with an expert panel featuring:

Major General James Cowan CBE DSO, Chief Executive Officer of the HALO Trust

Stefan Dercon, Professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government

Ben Judah, Writer, and Visiting Fellow at Chatham House

Dame Emily Thornberry MP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee

This event was chaired by Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the Institute for Government and there were opening remarks from Gemma Tumelty, Director of UK Advocacy at the Eleanor Crook Foundation.

We would like to thank the HALO Trust and the Eleanor Crook Foundation for kindly supporting this event.

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The worthy aims of the NHS’s prevention shift include reducing childhood obesity, cutting the prevalence of smoking, and tackling harmful alcohol consumption. But previous Institute for Government work shows that shifting to prevention is incredibly difficult, with successive governments’ actions rarely meeting lofty rhetoric.

So, one year on from the launch of the 10-year health plan, how much progress has the government made on its prevention goal?

This event brought together a panel of experts to discuss the following questions:

What has the government done to shift the NHS towards prevention since July 2025?

How is the government assessing its own progress on this shift? What would demonstrate success in its eyes by the next election?

Where has it made the most progress? Where has progress been slower?

What does the NHS bill mean for the prospects of future progress?

What are proving to be the particular stumbling blocks to implementation within the department, central government and local systems?

What could the government do to push this agenda ahead faster?

To explore these questions and more, this event brought together a panel featuring:

Dr Zubir Ahmed MP, former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Innovation and Safety

Dr Jennifer Dixon DBE, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation

Ravi Gurumurthy, Group Chief Executive Officer at Nesta

Ian Walker, Executive Director of Policy, Information and Communications at Cancer Research UK

The event was chaired by Stuart Hoddinott, Associate Director at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank Nesta for kindly supporting this event.
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Andy Burnham will surely become prime minister in a matter of weeks. But what kind of government would he lead and how can he prepare for the biggest job in British politics?

As Burnham sets out his policy priorities, and with much speculation about the key appointments he will make to his top team, this webinar brought together leading IfG experts to explore the challenges awaiting the next prime minister – and the skills and he experience he will need for job.

How can Burnham best use the time available to prepare for succeeding Keir Starmer as prime minister? What are the decisions that need to be taken before a transition of power? What do we know so far about the choices he could make on personnel and policies? And how will Burnham’s experiences of Mayor of Greater Manchester equip him for the job of prime minister?

Sam Freedman, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government

Dr Catherine Haddon, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government

Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government

This event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government.
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The Institute for Government was pleased to welcome Dan Tomlinson MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, to share his experiences as the sole departmental minister for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs – and set out his vision for transforming the department.

What will the shift to “digital by default” mean for HMRC’s performance, culture and operating model? How can digital transformation improve customer service? And what have the minister’s 10 months in the role taught him about the way HMRC works and how it can be reformed?

Following his keynote speech, Dan Tomlinson was in conversation with IfG Chief Economist Thomas Pope and took part in an audience Q&A.
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The Brexit Effect, edited by Sir Anthony Seldon, is a collection of over 30 essays on the impact of the referendum on whether the UK should stay in or leave the European Union. To discuss the book, the Institute for Government brought together some of its contributors to consider the continuing impact of that decision on the way the UK is governed and its place in the world.

Sir Anthony Seldon, editor of The Brexit Effect, made opening remarks. That was followed by an expert panel, including:

Helen MacNamara CB, author of the chapter on Brexit and civil service impartiality and former Deputy Cabinet Secretary

Rt Hon David Miliband, author of the chapter on Britain’s economic standing and future relations with the EU and former Foreign Secretary 2007-10

Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and co-author of the chapter on Brexit and the quality of UK governance (with Alex Thomas)

Marina Wheeler KC, author of the chapter on engaging with Europe as a sovereign nation

This event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Executive Director for Impact, at the Institute for Government.
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