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Heloise Dunlop

@hcdunlop.bsky.social
316 followers 707 following 111 posts

Researcher on the civil service team at the Institute for Government, formerly worked in public sector digital delivery and strategy. Views my own.

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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Our report has looked at how to reform health and disability benefits in the round - from the political leadership it takes, the join-up necessary for implementation, the gaps in evidence, and how the assessment process and approach to cost control needs to change for success. A lot to dig into...
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Hannah Keenan @hannahkeenan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And what jobs are they proposing cutting? As my colleague @hcdunlop.bsky.social points out this is basically the size of the whole of the operational delivery profession (prison officers, jobcentre plus staff, immigration officers, etc.)
A bar chart by the Institute for Government showing the number of civil servants by profession in 2026. The chart shows that operational delivery is the largest profession.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Good letter from Chi Onwurah seeking clarification about the split of DSIT’s responsibilities. The fact that there is still little clarity about the split is concerning, but it is a silver lining that the committee’s really good work will be continuing committees.parliament.uk/publications...
committees.parliament.uk
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Following on from @jackworlidge.bsky.social's analysis, here are a few other interesting things to pull out from this year's civil service stats (1/3)
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
After spending a bit of time digesting the news of DSIT's split, I've written a few thoughts about the risks that this might create 👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/demo...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Demolishing DSIT risks losing focus, expertise and coordination | Institute for Government
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology made sense.
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Jeni Tennison @jenitennison.com · 23/07/2026
Agree with this. The (then) Science and Technology Committee existed prior to DSIT and should continue after it, including scrutiny of public sector adoption of digital, data and AI, the responsibility for which is now distributed across departments. committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
committees.parliament.uk
Role - Science, Innovation and Technology Committee - Committees - UK Parliament
The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technol...
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Jill Rutter @jillongovt.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
The row over funding the VAT cut does not matter much in the wider scheme of things - but should serve as a warning to the Burnham govt to be more careful in announcements. If @hcdunlop.bsky.social and I knew govt had not made clear how it would fund ID cards, people inside govt knew that too
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Good thread from @gavinfreeguard.com about the decision to split DSIT. It struggled with its ability to influence (esp. as digital centre of govt) across govt, hiring senior roles, and has just had a reorg with the move of GDS in 2024. But the new depts have big & more varied (& unrelated) briefs
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This is a real shame - Patrick Vallance has been a really excellent and committed Science Minister who knew the territory and took a strategic view. Big shoes to fill
Patrick Vallance resigns from government
Science minister Lord Patrick Vallance has resigned from government following
Sir Keir Starmer's departure.
"After nearly a decade in Government I am stepping down as a minister, for personal reasons,
" he said in a
statement.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
@jillongovt.bsky.social and I had a report ready to go but were pipped to the post by Burnham’s (predictable) decision to bring digital ID to an end. There were too many questions to answer and little that had been decided, making it an easier (and popular) decision than most will be for Burnham!
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Jill Rutter @jillongovt.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
well @hcdunlop.bsky.social and I had a paper due to come out for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on what Andy Burnham should think about before scrapping digital ID but looks as though he may preempt us (£)https://www.ft.com/content/8f5445ab-dacb-4908-909f-277853ad0f50?syn-25a6b1a6=1
ft.com
Burnham scraps new digital ID scheme
Incoming prime minister says money saved will go towards tackling cost-of-living crisis
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I had a guess a few months ago that big changes might be afoot in GDS and it looks like they are. GDS published a blog saying that they are "evolving" the service standard "to define what “good” looks like for the future of public services" (1/3)
gds.blog.gov.uk
Evolving the Service Standard for the future of public services
We’re evolving the Service Standard from a one-off test into a living standard for modern, end-to-end public services. Here’s how – and how to be involved.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
👇It was fascinating to co-author this report on delivering digital transformation in public services and pull out the 7 lessons for future leaders of digital transformation to keep in mind:
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New people survey demographic data for 2025 has been published - the numbers on socio-economic background of civil servants does not seem to have changed significantly from 2024 data. A very slight (1pp) increase in representation at SCS of civil servants from a lower SEB, but broadly static (1/2)
A bar chart from the Institute for Government showing socio-economic background of civil servants by grade, 2025, where the share of staff with a high socio-economic background increases with grade, from 46% at AO/AA grade level to 70% in the senior civil service.A bar chart from the Institute for Government showing socio-economic background of civil servants by grade, 2024, where the share of staff with a high socio-economic background increases with grade, from 45% at AO/AA grade level to 71% in the senior civil service.
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Hannah Keenan @hannahkeenan.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Excellent to see Darren Jones announce "performance based pay progression" for the senior civil service. It hopefully starts to change some bad incentives in the system as it is at the moment...
questions-statements.parliament.uk
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Information from UK Parliament on written questions & answers, written statements and daily reports.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Good to see the new (but still interim) govt CTO talking about creating stronger data infrastructure & foundations. It's positive that govt wants better join up - building public trust and giving careful thought to where & why, when it identifies what data/systems to link, will be v important.
civilserviceworld.com
Chief technology officer sets out vision for 'intelligent government'
'Interoperability, not centralisation, will allow us to act as one', Sonia Patel says
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Ben Paxton @drbenpaxton.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
This is just the kind of testing and learning government should be doing to better understand how to support people out of work due to ill health (£) www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Sick notes ‘scrapped’ under plans to reduce benefit claimants
Social prescribers will be brought in to help those struggling with their health to stay in work in an attempt to reduce spiralling costs
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
This briefing by @adalovelaceinst.bsky.social provides a great toolkit to evaluate claims about AI. Alights on the same point in Whitehall Monitor: productivity gains are more complex than time savings alone. Govt is an org w/ existing problems - there needs to be a clear purpose for AI adoption
adalovelaceinstitute.org
Measuring up
Evaluating claims about AI and productivity in the UK public sector
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
PAC’s report on the BoE’s successful RTGS transformation programme made recs to govt – a great e.g. of reporting good practice & showing that successful digital transformation is possible! publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm...
publications.parliament.uk
The Bank of England’s Real-Time Gross Settlement Renewal Programme
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
I’ve written on the new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report on employment support in today’s newsletter:
ft.com
Novel approach needed for UK’s sick and unemployed
A shift to local initiatives may help more people back into work
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Hannah Keenan @hannahkeenan.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
There's so much to write about everything that's happening with Mandelson vetting fight (and always happy to explain the process, others have done so v well on here). But the v. aggressive approach from no10 is over the weekend is just so damaging - so have tried to capture some of that
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The Mandelson vetting blame-game is causing serious damage to ministerial-civil service relations | Institute for Government
The sacking of Olly Robbins has been badly handled by Keir Starmer.
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Ben Paxton @drbenpaxton.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Our new IfG report explores what a better system of employment support for people out of work due to ill health could look like. DWP's centralised approach to date has some strengths, but has limited integration with other services and the innovation needed to better understand what works 🧵
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Daniel Howes @howesdaniel.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
In a first for the IfG, @meganbryer.bsky.social and I have translated two pieces about the upcoming Welsh and Scottish elections into Cymraeg! 1/🧵
media.tenor.com
a red dragon on a green and white flag
ALT: a red dragon on a green and white flag
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Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Surely then no other government would be able to do anything? Enter Britain’s AI Security Institute, established by the Sunak gov’t & rebadged by the Starmer one AISI successfully negotiated access to Mythos preview. So far as we know, it is the only foreign government body to have done so 9/
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
This looks like a big change to GDS spend controls – which have been in place since 2010! Spend controls were put in place to ensure that tech projects/programmes followed the technology code of practice & are also part of the service assessment process (1/4) www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
Digital Assurance Playbook
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
This mismatch between the expansive vision for digital ID and the potential technical options is one govt will need to watch out for - govt needs to keep its focus on explaining how digital ID is useful for the public
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Hannah Keenan @hannahkeenan.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
This would obviously be very bad for state capacity. The binding constraint on civil servants getting stuff done is, very clearly, not their belief in the political project. Have tried to capture some of this - while obvious it still bears saying. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/refo...
theguardian.com
Reform UK government would replace top civil servants with those ‘more likely to implement party’s priorities’
Exclusive: Senior party figures conclude outsiders or existing senior staff deemed more suitable should take over from current permanent secretaries
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Daniel Howes @howesdaniel.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
It's that time again... ONS Public Sector Employment dropped today, revealing a familiar pattern - the civil service just can't stop growing. An increase of 535 from Q3 2025 to Q4 2025 brings the total to 520,860 (FTE). @instituteforgovernment.org.uk
A line chart from the institute for Government showing how the size of the civil service has changed since 2009. It shrinks gradually to a minimum in 2016, but has been steadily increasing since then.
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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 18/03/2026
What can the Foreign Office actually do when British nationals are caught up in a crisis overseas? @hcdunlop.bsky.social and @howesdaniel.bsky.social break down the support the UK can - and can’t - provide, and why expectations often exceed reality. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/expl...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
How does the Foreign Office help British nationals in a crisis? | Institute for Government
There are several ways the UK government steps in to help British nationals abroad.
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Hannah Keenan @hannahkeenan.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Only a quarter of civil servants think they save at least an hour a week using AI, but over 70% think AI will change how they do their current jobs. How do you square that? Hype? Bad tools? Poor training? Great thread from @hcdunlop.bsky.social looking at the new AI questions in the people survey.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
A bit late to the game, but some thoughts on the 2025 civil service people survey, which for the first time asked two qs about AI. There's little we can be sure about (it's new data!), but there are some interesting observations to keep an eye on... (1/5) www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
Civil Service People Survey: 2025 results
The results of the 2025 People Survey, which looks at civil servants' attitudes to and experience of working in government departments, are provided in this page.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
The govt’s now-published digital ID consultation sets a different tone and vision for digital ID. I wrote some thoughts on what that means below 👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The government’s consultation on digital ID marks a shift in tone and substance | Institute for Government
Will the government’s digital ID plan recover from Keir Starmer’s hasty false start?
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Rebecca McKee @rebeccamckee.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Darren Jones is due to announce a citizens' assembly as part of the government's consultation on digital ID cards What is a citizens' assembly and how have they been used before? See our handy @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explainer ⬇️
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Citizens' assemblies | Institute for Government
What are citizens' assemblies and how do they work?
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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 10/03/2026
Darren Jones is expected to announce the details of the government's consultation on digital ID cards. But what key questions does the government need to answer to move its digital ID plans forward? @hcdunlop.bsky.social explored in Dec last year www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The government still has questions to answer on digital IDs | Institute for Government
What does the government need to do to move its digital ID plans forward?
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Jack Burrows-Worlidge @jackworlidge.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Lots of v good points in this from @neildotobrien.bsky.social - civil service performance management is rubbish. But important not to think that's unrecognised inside CS. It's the complaint you hear most often, at all seniorities - the problem is making fixing it a priority & sticking with it!
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Hannah Keenan @hannahkeenan.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Worth saying that DHSC was one of the morale success stories last year - engagement went up by 5 ppt between 2023 and 2024
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Institute for Government @instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 26/02/2026
Establishing independent commissioners is much more than a tick-box exercise Government failure to recognise the long-term commitment that comes with establishing independent commissioners makes it harder for commissioners to succeed www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/esta...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Establishing independent commissioners is much more than a tick-box exercise | Institute for Government
Governments must recognise that independent commissioners need long-term commitment.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
@jackworlidge.bsky.social, @hannahkeenan.bsky.social and I take a look at what’s facing Antonia Romeo in her new role 👇
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Jack Burrows-Worlidge @jackworlidge.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Romeo was always the bold choice and is more likely than Wormald to drive the change the civil service needs. But after recent briefing she's appointed under a bit of a cloud. Not knowing where that will go makes this feel risky - and Starmer *really* can't afford another appointment going south
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Hannah Keenan @hannahkeenan.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Antonia Romeo appointed as cabinet secretary - @alexgathomas.bsky.social and I wrote last week about the challenges ahead for her and what lessons need to be taken from Wormald's tenure: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/next...
bbc.co.uk
Starmer appoints Antonia Romeo as head of UK civil service
Dame Antonia will be the first woman to hold the post and replaces Sir Chris Wormald as the UK's top civil servant.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Some thoughts from myself and my colleague @cassiarowland.bsky.social on Darren Jones' vision for a "digital state" and government's new digital roadmap. It's a good vision with some encouraging initiatives - but it needs a clearer plan www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/digi...
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
The government needs to set out how it will achieve its vision of a modern digital state | Institute for Government
Digital transformation has not needed a new vision. It has needed a better plan.
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Shaina Sangha @shaina-sangha.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
I spoke at the House of Lords Justice & Home Affairs Committee yesterday, on behalf of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk, on immigration, citizenship and integration. Thanks to @jlowen.bsky.social, @cassiarowland.bsky.social and @hcdunlop.bsky.social for help on prep! Session here: tinyurl.com/372h6jdk
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
I can choose my bank, I can choose my online supermarket, I can pick where I buy books and clothes and watch TV. I cannot choose whether or not to interact with the state, it is not the same as going shopping.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
A great thread from @cassiarowland.bsky.social - one of these inaccuracies is the q of the use of AI. Our recent Whitehall Monitor AI chapter emphasises that these new tools do not exist in a void; existing systems must adapt to mitigate new risks www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Good article by @matildamartin.bsky.social about govt discussions on dropping the compulsory right to work aspect. David Normington in the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk digital ID event spoke about the 2006 govt not making ID cards compulsory at first “to try to show people what the benefits were”
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Darren Jones at the IfG: "digital ID is about logging in and proving who you are to access public services online. That will be not just the route to digital transformation of customer-facing public services but a very clear focus in the future on the customer" (1/5)
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PoliticsHome @politicshome.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
"A year and a half on, it's hard to say that the Civil Service is meaningfully different to the one Labour was introduced to in 2024" Labour's bid to rewire the state was welcome and necessary. However, worrying Whitehall trends have tended to get worse writes the IfG's @hannahkeenan.bsky.social
politicshome.com
The government promised to rewire the British state – so, where is the plan?
If you were disappointed with your presents this Christmas, spare a thought for the recipient of one of the more formidable festive gifts of recent...
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
A great post from @samfr.bsky.social today showing that sometimes the small wins have a big impact. The digital transformation chapter in the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Whitehall Monitor 2026 highlights the fact that digital successes rely on collaboration and leadership. (1/3)
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Philip Nye @philipnye.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Another from @hcdunlop.bsky.social and @melissaittoo.bsky.social There have been..quite a lot..of digital transformation strategies since 2010…
A graphic from the Institute for Government showing quotes taken from six government digital transformation strategies between 2010-2025. The quotes highlight the consistency of the promises over the years, often mentioning culture change and ‘putting people’s needs first’.
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Heloise Dunlop @hcdunlop.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
These 5 depts make up 68% of the civil service - with operational delivery a large proportion of those depts' numbers (as the graph @philipnye.bsky.social has posted shows!). (1/2)
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