Gavin Freeguard

Working in the think tank sector Webinar for undergraduates or those with similar experience interested in working in the sector Think tanks are research organisations that develop ideas and suggestions for action on a whole range of subjects affecting society. Using research, analysis and commentary, we aim to inform and influence politicians, policy makers and the public. This event is aimed at people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups, people with work-limiting health conditions or impairments, young adults with caring responsibilities (including young parents), mature students, people from lower-income backgrounds, care leavers and LGBT+ students. Wednesday 18 February 2026 3:30 pm - 6:05 pm

Thinking of a career in think tanks?

On Wednesday, we're hosting a webinar for undergraduates or those with similar experience interested in working in the sector. We'll have speakers from numerous organisations sharing their insight and experience.

Register here 👉 buff.ly/a3cO0df

Join us a week tomorrow for the latest TransformGov Talks event!

(At the MoJ, near St James's Park tube, or online)

And catch up on the excellent events to date: www.transformgov.org.uk/previous.shtml

FOI Fest 2026 Thu, Feb. 19, 2026

Happy FOI Fest week!

Come and join us this Thursday, 19 February, at Birkbeck College, London and online, as we think about what freedom of information has achieved to date, where it goes next, and benefit from lightning talks and skills shares

pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...

Question Lord Pack Liberal Democrat Life peer Lords To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the current arrangements for licensing and accessing the postcode address file; and what assessment they have made of the impact this may have on economic growth. Answer Baroness Lloyd of Effra Labour Life peer Lords Answered on 28 January 2026 The Postcode Address File is owned by Royal Mail. Royal Mail’s terms of access to the Postcode Address File are regulated by Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services. Ofcom requires Royal Mail to provide access to the Postcode Address File on reasonable terms. Royal Mail provides free access to small charities and microbusinesses in their first year

Given UK government's focus on economic growth Ministers really should be asking civil servants why they have not done any assessment of the potential economic growth of open address data (& geo data more broadly)

Every other govt that does has come to conclusion to push it towards open...

The Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary have agreed by mutual consent the Cabinet Secretary will stand down Sir Chris Wormald to stand down as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service

Wormald confirmed as leaving as cabinet secretary - interesting that Antonia Romeo (MoJ), James Bowler (HMT) and Cat Little (Cabinet Office) will act as joint interims

www.gov.uk/government/n...

DSIT consultation on 'Opportunities for public sector data' closes 28 Feb (or sooner) 👇

FOI Fest 2026 FOI Fest 2026 will be held at Birkbeck University of London and online. You need to register here in order to attend. FOI Fest 2026 is being co-organised by the FOI Network, with...

Current agenda: www.mysociety.org/transparency...

FOI Fest 2026 Thu, Feb. 19, 2026

🚨 ONE WEEK TODAY 🚨

Join us at Birkbeck College, London & online for

FOI FEST 2026

- Keynotes from ICO & Scottish Info Commissioner, followed by discussion
- Lightning talks
- Skills sessions

Sign up now: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...

And for FOI Network updates: www.mysociety.org/transparency...

And please help us shape the future of the Data and AI Public Engagement community of practice 👇

bsky.app/profile/conn...

Join us today, online! 👇

Join @connectedbydata.org @demos-uk.bsky.social and some great speakers and attendees in Manchester, 6 March 👇

(It's a Gus O'Donnell reference, for avoidance of doubt!)

God...

Just spotted @foodgov.bsky.social appear to have joined Bluesky (h/t @ukhsa.bsky.social)

Have added to my UK (central) government organisations Starter Pack - please shout if I've missed any others that have joined in recent weeks!

go.bsky.app/JHsY1Wz

(More info bsky.app/profile/gavi...)

(My old history teacher, lecturing on the late 18th/early 19th century, started one class by asking if we were a Burke or a Paine)

Always the Case, tbf

Cabinet secretary | Institute for Government The cabinet secretary is the most senior civil service adviser to the prime minister and cabinet.

(from www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/ca... - and you might notice two actual trends: they're all men; and terms are getting shorter)

A horizontal bar chart from the Institute for Government showing the tenure of Cabinet Secretaries. The tenure of Sir Burke Trend (1963-1972) is highlighted in a poor attempt at a pun. The full list can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_Secretary_(United_Kingdom)#List_of_cabinet_secretaries

Time for my increasingly frequent, 'there's a clear Trend on this chart' joke

FOI Fest 2025 19th February, Birkbeck University of London + online

In-person tickets for FOI Fest have almost sold out, so act now if you are hoping to join us in London: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo... (online spaces are limitless, but still a good idea to book now while you're thinking of it!). #FOI #freedomofinformation

Thanks Debbie! And to echo Dave, these are all qs I've been pondering as well. There's a q in the survey about which groups people would like to attend - eg policy people in other sectors as well as other govt disciplines (eg digital). V conscious of current civ s sensitivities around openness, too

I've also added a line to the MS Form to clarify where the idea came from - thanks for raising, @pubstr.at, and I'd echo Dave's points and that the survey etc is an open opportunity for people to help shape what comes next!

And reason for setting it up in the first place is very much based on the sense that there's some really interesting work going on, new approaches etc - but much that could be better. The purpose of the event is very much to surface those conversations

Thanks for these comments. As we say on the website/survey, this is a chance to shape what Policy Camp looks like - even though it's primarily aimed at policymakers, personally I would definitely welcome a broader audience (that's one of the questions)

If you want to do something productive, that could help make government better, while you doomscroll...

👇

Conference poster with two headshots announcing "Power and participation in public tech," featuring Gavin Freeguard and Eve Holt, event hosted by CONNECTED by DATA.

📣 'Power and participation in public tech' conference registration is open!
📆 Friday 6th March
🕰️ 10:00 - 17:00
🏢 Manchester, UK

We're pleased to announce the day includes @gavinfreeguard.bsky.social in conversation with @evefrancisholt.bsky.social from GMCA.

🔗 connectedbydata.org/events/2026...

TransformGov Talks: February 2026 · Luma Liam Hawkes, Principal Service Designer, and Violette Gadenne, Senior User Researcher, Policy and Innovation Lab (CoLab), Home Office, on setting the scene,…

🚨 6PM, WED 25 February 🚨

At the MoJ or online.

Liam Hawkes and Violette Gadenne, CoLab HO on service design in a spending review

​James Plunkett, Kinship Works, on the energy at the edges - and how the centre can spread it

luma.com/q19znan6

Please share! Thanks 🙏

Experience: I am the Excel world champion I have been called the LeBron James of spreadsheets, but I try not to take myself too seriously

Experience: I am the Excel world champion

Make things open it makes them better

Good to see the membership of the NDL Expert Advisory Group has been published - congrats @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social @bengoldacre.bsky.social @maltbyps.bsky.social @stianwestlake.bsky.social www.gov.uk/government/g...

Hopefully a sign of things to come on working in the open, too

We'd love you to help shape that conversation, so we've set up a survey - to get your reflections on what has (and hasn't) worked to date, what you've found useful, and what should come next

MS Forms version: forms.office.com/r/gPvfrr2eAW
Google Forms version: bit.ly/3O0rHug

Thank you! (3/3)