Matt Ross

The ‘four Ds': Ireland’s chief economist spells out the major challenges governments face At the Global Government Finance Summit, Ireland’s chief economist John McCarthy listed the ‘four Ds’: the structural challenges weakening growth and public finances both in Ireland and in other advan...

So a troubling discussion, but an enlightening one - and that's without adding McCarthy's views on the US yield curve, covered in the full article at www.globalgovernmentforum.com/the-four-ds-... 8/8

Costello's 2nd D was Debt: many countries "have higher deficits, higher debt post-COVID. We need to rebuild our fiscal buffers, and the interest rate environment we face now is very different... So we face all these additional investment needs, but against much tougher fiscal constraints.” 7/8

Declan Costello, deputy director-general of the European Commission’s Economic and Financial Affairs Directorate, suggested another two Ds - starting with Defence. “We have a war on the border of Europe. There is a clear need to augment our own capacity to defend ourselves”, he said. 6/8

D4 is Deglobalisation. Along with global turbulence & protectionism, subsidies threaten Ireland: it "can’t compete with the big boys in Europe in terms of being able to subsidise national champions... The potential unlevelling of the European Single Market... is something that I worry about.” 5/8

D3 is Digitalisation. “Will skilled labour benefit more than unskilled labour, or vice versa? Will the gains all be captured by the owners of capital? Will these technologies generate ‘winner takes all’ or ‘winner takes most’ dynamics?” Productivity gains don't necessarily benefit the workforce. 4/8

D2 is Decarbonisation. This creates "stranded assets" by rendering fossil fuel infastructure & plant redundant, demands spending on new skills, and means finding new revenues to replace the 7% of government income generated by fossil fuel levies such as the carbon tax and motor fuel VAT. 3/8

D1 is Demographics: "There are currently four people of working age supporting each retiree. That’s set to become three by the mid-part of the next decade, and two by the mid-part of the century,” he said. “Labour supply is set to dry up" -cutting underlying growth just as pension costs rise. 2/8

The ‘four Ds': Ireland’s chief economist spells out the major challenges governments face At the Global Government Finance Summit, Ireland’s chief economist John McCarthy listed the ‘four Ds’: the structural challenges weakening growth and public finances both in Ireland and in other advan...

Fascinating speech by John McCarthy, Chief Economist of Ireland's Department of Finance. His 'four Ds' capture the biggest challenges facing western economies - & in a striking example of Irish productivity, had grown to six Ds by the end of the event. 🧵 www.globalgovernmentforum.com/the-four-ds-...

The case for a Hippocratic Oath for artificial intelligence A modern equivalent to the Hippocratic Oath is required to address the transformational arrival of AI, top digital leaders heard at a Washington DC roundtable.

Two millenia ago, Hippocrates devised an oath to bind practitioners of the emerging practice of medicine. Now we need a similar vow for the people developing AI, says Jeffrey Saviano of @harvard.edu @mitofficial.bsky.social Boston Uni School of Law & EY
www.globalgovernmentforum.com/the-case-for...

"Showing kindness and trust creates a virtuous circle – people respond well to that" - MIP As chief executive of Suffolk and North East Essex, one of the England’s most highly rated integrated care boards, Ed Garratt has pioneered a radically different approach t0 leadership – one based aro...

The results are clear, with his Suffolk and North East Essex ICB creating radical new services in dentistry and primary care. One to watch: @nhsengland.bsky.social is currently drawing up its ICB ratings, expected in the coming weeks 🧵5/ends www.miphealth.org.uk/news/intervi...

His focus on stimulating "followship" is a stark contrast with the approach of many ICBs, which create detailed strategies then cascade responsibilities down through the ICS. Rather than handing out individual tasks & holding people to account for delivery, he shows the goal & empowers staff. 🧵4

Himself inspired by James Timpson, Garratt argues that “showing kindness and trust towards your staff creates a virtuous circle, because people respond well to that; and then they show those qualities with their staff and across organisational boundaries.” 🧵3

The "pace-setting, performance management style" of leadership is "one-dimensional" and counter-productive, Garratt believes: he instead seeks to link NHS & care staff to their communities - building identity and motivation - while showing how strategic changes will serve the public 🧵2

"Showing kindness and trust creates a virtuous circle – people respond well to that" - MIP As chief executive of Suffolk and North East Essex, one of the England’s most highly rated integrated care boards, Ed Garratt has pioneered a radically different approach t0 leadership – one based aro...

So refreshing to hear leadership expressed as the task of inspiring people, rather than managing them - and from someone who's shown the power of this approach: Ed Garratt's ICB has won plaudits as the best-managed in England #integratedcare A quick 🧵
www.miphealth.org.uk/news/intervi...

V hard to assess right now whether claims are valid under the rules: do people face persecution, are their homes safe etc? Should become clearer soon, but right now we lack the info to resolve claims. So pausing them seems sensible until the dust settles.

We need to give managers reasons to join the profession — not risks to avoid Interview: Steve McManus, chief executive, Royal Berkshire NHS trust

Much more in the interview, particularly on integrated care systems and leadership within the NHS. 🧵8/ends www.miphealth.org.uk/home/news-ca...

In this context, Streeting's line that he wants ”top talent attracted to [the] most challenging areas” while “persistently failing managers [will] be sacked” sounds awkward. If managers end up being sanctioned because their trusts are in trouble, nobody will want to take those tough jobs. 🧵7

If regulation comes “with a view of, ‘we’re going to regulate out the bad apples; we’re going to regulate out the incapable,’ without balancing that with development and support, then that will create a hugely negative context and risks driving out talent,” he says. 🧵6

Point 2: McManus has won praise from @england.nhs.uk for improving management, & supports regulation of NHS managers - as backed by Wes Streeting. But he says it must "support the drive for high-quality management and leadership, professionalising it," rather than being used to beat managers up. 🧵5

In Keir Starmer's big speech yesterday, the NHS goal was all about waiting times. The reforms being championed by McManus should do that in time, by reducing demand. But if the NHS must focus on delivering treatments now, resources must stay with the trusts & these essential reforms will suffer. 🧵4

Asked how the new government can help trusts like his, he calls for longer-term capital funding; stability in political leadership and policy goals; and reform of primary care, giving trusts a single partner which which to coordinate reform. Just to note a couple of warning signs here... 🧵3

This approach carries a risk for hard-pressed acute trusts, he knows: health leaders will have to find an approach that "moves that resource but doesn’t destabilise your acute organisations.” Yet it is essential: “If we continue in this way, we haven’t got a sustainable model of healthcare.” 🧵2

We need to give managers reasons to join the profession — not risks to avoid Interview: Steve McManus, chief executive, Royal Berkshire NHS trust

Steve McManus of @royalberkshospital.bsky.social runs big hospitals - but, like Wes Streeting, he wants to “move the point of delivery upstream, into a more preventative” approach to health built around GPs & community services. Quick thread 🧵1
www.miphealth.org.uk/home/news-ca...

Chris Wormald - the balance sheet. In favour:
1. vastly experienced (much, much more than Case). Run two v big budget depts. also held senior role in what is now MHCLG; done time at the centre as head of EDS and heading Clegg office. former head of policy profession.

So he has a track record of delivering for v ambitious ministers; reconciling radicalism with pragmatism in CS reform; & promoting cross-govt collaboration on intractable social & financial issues. He also knows the NHS inside-out. That looks like a neat fit for Starmer's agenda. 🧵3/3

The price of success: UK health chief Chris Wormald on what the NHS can’t do - Global Government Forum Marking the Department of Health and Social Care’s 100th birthday, its permanent secretary Chris Wormald both lauded its achievements, and highlighted its limitations. For while health services have r...

He is thoughtful & strategic - giving a speech in 2019 calling for wider colllaboration to tackle the big social & public health problems driving demand for healthcare. COVID has only made that need more acute. 🧵2/3
www.globalgovernmentforum.com/the-price-of... @strandgroup.bsky.social

Interview: Chris Wormald Chris Wormald, the education department’s permanent secretary, is leading organisational changes that go well beyond the Civil Service Reform Plan....

Chris Wormald is a smart choice for Cab Sec. I first met him in 2013, when as DfE perm sec he'd delivered Michael Gove's 'zero based review' of the dept - balancing political pressure for radical cuts with a pragmatic defence of essential functions. www.civilserviceworld.com/in-depth/art... 🧵1/3

But with changing attitudes to China and the huge growth of platforms such as Schein & Temu, says @annacavazzini.bsky.social, "almost all MEPs are demanding more action from the Commission.” My report features @eeb.org @beuc.bsky.social Ecommerce Europe & Lighting Europe.

Online retail platforms & individual vendors wihout an EU rep can easily evade EU regs when posting parcels into the union - weakening environmental protections & undercutting EU firms. "It’s a consumer problem, but also a competition problem” says @greens-efa.eu MEP @annacavazzini.bsky.social

Turning the tanker: rebuilding public trust in government Over recent years, public trust in politicians and governments has taken a pounding. Last week, some of the key players in the debate over public standards discussed how the new UK administration can ...

In an era of social media squabbles & economic decline, regaining the public's trust is a massive task. Restoring standards in public life will be an essential foundation, but inadequate: to prove its value, govt must make people's lives better. www.globalgovernmentforum.com/turning-the-...