Amber Dellar

DfE expects every secondary school to have an inclusion base The government’s 10-year estates plan includes the goal for all secondaries to have dedicated spaces that bridge the gap between mainstream and specialist provision

DfE expects every secondary school to have an inclusion base as part of its ten year estates plan. These will comprise of support bases set up by trusts and schools and specialist bases commissioned by councils. @tesmagazine.bsky.social story here : www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Government unveils expanded support for adopted children Consultation launched on providing better, earlier, and more targeted help to adopted children and funding increased for adoption support fund

The Government has announced expanded support for adopted children. This includes a £5m increase in funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund over the next 12 months, taking total funding to £55 million.

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

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

Agreed - I am surprised this size of new commitment hasn't had more attention. The settlement also commits to doing something unspecified for 26-28. A similar commitment for those years would require a further similar-sized chunk of money.

This is a LOT of money for govt to come up with, and quickly ( it's being paid in autumn this year).

It's also unclear how it plans to fund things from 28/29 onwards, when it will assume responsibility for all future SEND deficits. OBR forecasts those will reach £6bn in the first year alone.

Major news for local government finance. Great that there's now more certainty - without action it's likely the majority of councils would have faced 'bankruptcy' in 28/29.

But unclear (at least to me) where the £5bn is coming from. For context that's about 8% of the core schools funding for 25/26

Third of areas cut core school funding to prop up SEND DfE urged to fix the ‘scandal’ of mainstream school funding being diverted to support councils’ ‘mountainous’ SEND debts

Schools in more than one in three areas of the country face cuts to their core funding next year as local authorities grapple with “mountainous” deficits in special educational needs spending. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

If true, this is a huge change in appeal rights...

How the centre of government can design better growth policy | Institute for Government Why does the UK struggle with growth?

I have a report out today on the near-perennial question of why UK governments struggle to stick at growth policy in anything like a strategic way. Some hurried points:- 0/

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Community health hubs could use empty classrooms LocatED chief 'seriously worried' falling rolls could undo the work of the free schools programme

📉 Exclusive: Classrooms in schools rocked by falling rolls could be used by the NHS as 'community health hubs', the boss of the Department for Education’s property arm has said
schoolsweek.co.uk/community-he...

The government should be clear about the trade-offs involved in SEND reform | Institute for Government Decisions about legal safeguards will shape the future SEND system.

Short comment from me about SEND reform:

Legal rights are a much-relied-upon safeguard in the SEND system, but they can complicate efforts to make education more inclusive.

Govt must acknowledge and carefully navigate that tension, with parents and other stakeholders

Winning the argument that any reforms to the SEND system will benefit children and young people will be key for govt

But given how febrile the atmosphere is at the moment + recent U-turns due to strong MP pushback, it is unclear how any reforms will land

Interesting from @amberdellar.bsky.social 👇

The government should be clear about the trade-offs involved in SEND reform | Institute for Government Decisions about legal safeguards will shape the future SEND system.

Short comment from me about SEND reform:

Legal rights are a much-relied-upon safeguard in the SEND system, but they can complicate efforts to make education more inclusive.

Govt must acknowledge and carefully navigate that tension, with parents and other stakeholders

the local government theory of everything

Trial and error?: The impact of restricting jury trials on court demand | Institute for Government The government’s reforms will unlock only relatively modest reductions in demand.

NEW REPORT: the gov’s proposals for judge-only trials will deliver only marginal savings and distract from the real route out of this crisis: reversing recent falls in court productivity.

Louise Casey on patient/citizen choice in public services:

"I disagree with performative legislation that has no strategy, no money, no ability to get that done which turns it a advocacy, legislative, lawyering up job, which we have with SEND and potentially the Care Act, and with homelessness"

Government is looking for efficiencies within its tight spending plans: 16% back office cuts, 'technical' efficiencies as big as the MoJ budget (£13.8bn) and a reheated Sunak-era blanket 5% savings target

Some thoughts on how these all add up from the IfG's Whitehall Monitor report out today...

This is getting going now, will live tweet some of the highlights of what Streeting says

Thread below...

Whitehall Monitor 2026 | Institute for Government Labour’s efforts to ‘rewire the state’ aren’t addressing longstanding workforce problems.

📢NEW REPORT📢
Every year @instituteforgovernment.org.uk sets out the latest on the civil service - size, professions, pay, morale. You name it, we analyse it. This year's report is out today.
If you're interested in state capacity, you should be interested in what's happening in the civil service. 🧵

There's now data out about the resident doctor strikes last month

So how disruptive did they end up being? And what can we say about how the NHS is responding to ongoing strikes?

Short 🧵👇

Reform councillors are trying to blame Labour's funding reforms for council tax rises

It doesn't stack up. After those reforms, 5/10 Reform councils will receive above average funding increases and none get anywhere near a cut

They are raising tax because they failed to deliver promised savings

Storm Goretti: UK councils attacked over lack of grit on slippery streets Latest news as snow and ice weather warnings issued across UK

Wonder if a relatively small increase in local government spending on gritting this week would have lead to NHS savings from fewer A+E attendances with falls yesterday?
Potentially an example of the benefits of a more place-based approach to funding public services
www.thetimes.com/uk/weather/a...

Foster carers could be exempt from paying council tax next year North Devon Council looks to help its 36 foster families

Foster carers could be exempt from paying council tax in the future, if North Devon Council gets its way.

www.devonlive.com/news/devon-n...

Got 2 minutes? Tell us how we can improve our yearly deep dive into public services

Actions fall short of ambition in the government’s new homelessness strategy | Institute for Government The government has set broadly the right destination for the homelessness system, but the changes it aren’t enough proposes to get it there.

Actions fall short of ambition in the government’s new homelessness strategy

The government has set broadly the right destination for the homelessness system, but the changes it aren’t enough proposes to get it there, says @amberdellar.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

Policy making blind spots | Institute for Government The systemic policy-making failures that have contributed to a sharp ‘cliff-edge’ in attainment levels.

NEW report from @nehaldavison.bsky.social and I.

Why have successive governments failed to tackle persistent inequalities in early years outcomes?

We set out 5 systemic policy making failures that lead to some children being 'left behind'.
🧵⬇️

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Three things the government needs to do to make the child poverty strategy work | Institute for Government The child poverty strategy is a concrete shift towards prevention but ministers must take action to implement it effectively.

NEW IfG verdict on the child poverty strategy from me and @amberdellar.bsky.social

A critical package for the govt, but it needs:
- stronger powers/accountability in DWP to lead it
- much more robust support for LAs
- earlier monitoring/evaluation

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/chil...

Three things the government needs to do to make the child poverty strategy work | Institute for Government The child poverty strategy is a concrete shift towards prevention but ministers must take action to implement it effectively.

The child poverty strategy represents a concrete shift to prevention, but as always, the devil is in the detail.

@sophiemetcalfe.bsky.social and I go into that detail in our new comment:

- On coordinating multiple departments
- Ensuring local partners have the right support
- Monitoring progress

Schools lack resources to keep pupils with SEND Report reveals inconsistent support for pupils with SEND who are out of school and at risk of leaving

Schools lack resources needed to help keep children with SEND in school, meaning too many are leaving when it could be avoided, according to a new Ofsted report

​​A National Plan to End Homelessness​ ​​This strategy sets out our long-term vision to end homelessness and rough sleeping, making sure everyone has access to a safe and secure home.

Homelessness strategy now out - calling it A National Plan to End Homelessness certainly shows the right level of ambition

www.gov.uk/government/p...