Amber Dellar
Researcher, public services @instituteforgovernment.org.uk. Focusing on schools and local government, particularly children's social care and homelessness. She/her
- Reposted by Amber DellarIf true, this is a huge change in appeal rights...
- Reposted by Amber DellarI 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/...
- Reposted by Amber Dellar📉 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...
- Reposted by Amber DellarWinning 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 👇
- 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
- Reposted by Amber Dellarthe local government theory of everything
- Reposted by Amber DellarNEW 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.
- Reposted by Amber DellarLouise 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"
- Reposted by Amber DellarGovernment 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...
- Reposted by Amber DellarThis is getting going now, will live tweet some of the highlights of what Streeting says Thread below...
- As Playbook says, Wes Streeting is speaking @instituteforgovernment.org.uk this morning Playbook rightly points out that we gave him a mixed review in last year's Public Services Performance Tracker. If you want to read that review, link is below www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
- Reposted by Amber Dellar📢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. 🧵
- Reposted by Amber DellarThere'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 🧵👇
- Reposted by Amber DellarReform 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
- Reposted by Amber DellarWonder 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...
- Reposted by Amber DellarFoster 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
- Last month we published our public services Performance Tracker 2025 We're looking for feedback! If you've read the report, then we'd love to hear how you think we can improve it for next year It shouldn't take more than 2 minutes to fill out the survey www.surveymonkey.com/r/S33HJPY
- Reposted by Amber DellarActions 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...
- Reposted by Amber DellarNEW 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/...
- Reposted by Amber DellarNEW 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...
- 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
- Reposted by Amber DellarSchools 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
- Reposted by Amber DellarHomelessness strategy now out - calling it A National Plan to End Homelessness certainly shows the right level of ambition www.gov.uk/government/p...
- Reposted by Amber DellarBig story from @lydiach.bsky.social - buried in Treasury documents, the government confirms it intends to allocate disadvantage funding to schools based on income data, not free school meals eligibility. It follows criticism that FSM is a poor proxy for poverty
- Exclusive: Family income data will replace free school meals eligibility as the trigger for pupil premium and other deprivation funding for schools, the government has said schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-premiu...
- Really interesting report, demonstrating the sheer lack of data that special schools and AP settings have about their pupils - a massive barrier to service delivery and coordination Almost a third of AP settings can only give an estimate for the number of pupils on their roll
- Reposted by Amber DellarThe @instituteforgovernment.org.uk’s Week in Public Services blog is back! This week I looked at the Budget’s place-based budget pilots, jury trial restrictions, and Ofsted’s concerns on children’s social care. Some thoughts below. medium.com/week-in-publ...
- Reposted by Amber DellarThe government’s decision to delay mayoral elections cannot be justified on democratic or fairness grounds Our IfG devolution experts react to the announcement that May 2026 elections for new mayors will be postponed to 2028 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...
- Reposted by Amber DellarThe Government’s Child Poverty Strategy published today is the first we’ve seen for 11 years – which in itself is a sea change. 🧵 👇
- Reposted by Amber DellarIf you’re looking for a tl;dr of how the government is doing on public services, this fab line from @amberdellar.bsky.social does the job nicely:
- 15% of local authority run primary schools were in debt in 23/24, compared to 8% in 18/19 Our analysis suggests that the rise in unfilled primary places accounts for nearly two-fifths of that increase
- For more...
- Demanding collaboration between health and education services is often not enough to make it happen, especially when the system is so stretched Building supply-side capacity is vital, as is aligning incentives/funding between delivery partners
- Last week the Chancellor announced a central government takeover of special educational needs deficits. I write about the potential impacts of this move on SEND reform, including on governance of the system, local innovation and trust
- Some further clarification over where money to cover SEND costs will *not* be coming from in 2028/29, in case DfE's punchy blog last week (see screenshot) was not clear enough Still a lack of clarity over where the money will in fact come from
- Phillipson has announced we (and presumably govt itself) won't find out until the 2027 spending review
- Reposted by Amber DellarNEW REPORT: abolishing NHS England could help simplify accountability, improve prioritisation and create savings. But the change could also lead to increases in policy incoherence and blame culture, as well as the loss of skills, capacity and focus on areas outside the day-to-day NHS.
- Reposted by Amber DellarSo the £6bn SEND budget blackhole predicted by the OBR for 2028-29 is a 'matter for the next spending review', Phillipson has told Parliament This is due in 2027, and as set out earlier this year, will review budgets set at the latest SR in June for 28-29 and 29-30 Still, cutting it fine...
- The government will set out how it intends to plug an estimated £6 billion shortfall in SEND funding at the next spending review in 2027, the education secretary has said schoolsweek.co.uk/6bn-send-sho...
- Reposted by Amber DellarMy latest on the gov's proposal to all-but abolish jury trials: a radical move that would leave us out-of-step with most democracies and increase the risk of miscarriages of justice. 🧵 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/david-lammy-...
- Reposted by Amber DellarInvestigation: Dozens of councils do not hold data on how many home-educated children are subject to child protection enquiries – suggesting many authorities are underprepared for new duties to protect vulnerable children schoolsweek.co.uk/safeguarding...
- Reposted by Amber DellarAs the covid inquiry gears up for Module 9 on economic policy, @gemmatetlow.bsky.social and I have a new @ukri.org-funded @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report out on Epi-econ modelling for pandemics. We set out why govt needs to invest now 1/🧵 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
- Reposted by Amber DellarMy final guest blog for @russellwebster.com! So far, I've covered policing, criminal courts and prisons. But what about the broader picture? How are other public services performing, what does that mean for criminal justice, and how well have Labour done in their first year and a half?
- Reposted by Amber DellarAttention is on NEETs today, but the problem is much worse. NEETs include stay-at-home parents & jobseekers. Strip those out to focus on people not working, not seeking work, not in education & not parenting: this group of economically & socially dislocated young adults has *doubled* in a decade.
- Reposted by Amber DellarNew comment from us on the six big things we at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk will be looking out for at next week's budget
- With less than a week to go until Rachel Reeves delivers her 2025 budget, the IfG public finances team have set out six key questions they will be looking for the chancellor to answer - from fiscal and tax strategies to cost of living www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...
- Reposted by Amber DellarGov just published a new list cabinet committees. In short, looks like (1) big vote of confidence in Darren Jones from the PM, (2) existing missions + immigration are top of the government's agenda, (3) PM wants things to happen faster, and (4) Rayner's priorities perhaps no longer front of mind?🧵
- New data shows 40% of 19 to 21 year-old care leavers were not in employment, education or training in March this year (15,000 young people). For all 19 to 21 year-olds, that figure is estimated at 15%.
- Reposted by Amber DellarA chart that surprised me: NHS staff absences for mental health reasons are at record highs, above pandemic levels Absences for that reason have grown far faster than the combination of other reasons since 2016 Staff were absent for 1.4% of all working days for mental health reasons in YE May 2025
- Reposted by Amber DellarNEW: Report from me and @nehaldavison.bsky.social on how and why boys from low-income families get left behind in their early years 🧵⬇️ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
- Reposted by Amber DellarWith a week to go until the budget, here is the IfG's view on what to watch On public services, we'll be looking to see: - How the inflation forecast changes real terms spending - More details on govt's reform agenda - Further efficiency drives www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...
- Reposted by Amber DellarLack of planning has hit Labour’s efforts to fix public services, says thinktank. Great summary of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's analysis by @kiranstacey.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
- Reposted by Amber DellarThis post from DfE is going down like a sack of spuds. Many teachers replying with their experience from the frontline right now…
- Reposted by Amber DellarNEW: Labour inherited public services in crisis. Performance had fallen, investment had been cut + spending plans were undeliverable. It's made some progress, providing stability and positive long-term plans. But it has been undermined by poor prep in opposition and lack of co-ordination in govt 🧵
- Reposted by Amber DellarThis is really part of a longer story about the ONS, and the picture we have (or don't) of the state and society. The move from International Passenger Surveys to DWP data should improve our understanding of what Brits are doing at least.
- Reposted by Amber DellarBuckle up for tomorrow's packed schedule‼️ Starting with: How successfully have Labour run public services? @cassiarowland.bsky.social @amberdellar.bsky.social @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social @njdavies.bsky.social @markwfranks.bsky.social 🎟️ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/labour...
- Reposted by Amber DellarEducation Support's Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 reveals an education workforce in crisis with staff wellbeing at its lowest level since 2019. 📘Download the full report, with recommendations for change: bit.ly/43cYK30 #TWIX2025 @edsupportuk.bsky.social
- Reposted by Amber DellarOur contribution to ongoing debates on the reform of children's social care @hscwru.bsky.social No quick fixes: Multi-agency working to improve information-sharing on men and keep children safe url: academic.oup.com/bjsw/article...
- Reposted by Amber Dellar💸 A school has been refused permission to cut its intake by a quarter despite estimates of a 'catastrophic' £2 million deficit after the local authority opposed the plans
- Reposted by Amber DellarIn other news look at councils projected cumulative deficit just on special needs costs over the next few years. Yikes.
- Reposted by Amber DellarNEW REPORT: the govt has been running the NHS in England for 16 months So how are they doing? Tl;dr there are some signs of progress, but the overall approach to reforming the service has been chaotic, with little coherence between policies 🧵👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...
- Reposted by Amber DellarGuardian’s top story is @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social’s analysis of NHS performance, the latest release from Public Service Performance Tracker 2025. There are some positives from past years but these risk being undermined by loss of GP partners, social care failures and chaotic approach to reform
- Reposted by Amber DellarEmpty classrooms present government with a challenge and an opportunity The government needs to show strategic direction on school places, says @amberdellar.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/empt...
- Reposted by Amber DellarIt was fascinating to work on this research with @hopenothate.org.uk. All political parties are coalitions of voters with different preferences, but current supporters of Reform are especially disparate. The big question is how long Farage can keep them all on side.
