I’m a fan of this idea - but rather than swap one arrangement of benefits (and therefore demographic traps) for another, could we not let people select their preferred mix of salary/pension/leave, say annually, and they can tweak depending on their circumstances?

I’m now coming to the end of my time in the UK Civil Service, after being here for nearly 3 years, working across 3 depts. What else have I learnt about policymaking and what it’s like to work here? A new thread

'That Direct File exists at all is shocking. That it’s pretty good is borderline miraculous...it’s a glimpse of a world where government tech benefits millions of Americans.'
theatlantic.com/technology/arc…

🚨🚨🚨Francis Maude backs liberating the Postcode Address File!!🚨🚨🚨

On 18 April I am chairing a Public Digital event on 'The person-centred healthcare record - pipe dream or inevitability?' I have a fantastic panel lined up in the shape of Axel Heitmueller rachel dunscombe Tracey Watson Gary McAllister Jess Morley Details: tickettailor.com/events/publicd…

'The Radical How' - another useful Whitehall/ Civil Service Reform report. My summary and comments are here:- ukcivilservant.substack.com/p/a-government…

For those who are into this sort of thing - the boring magic that actually makes government work (or not) - this is really, really good.

🛩️ New post! ArriveCan and the contractor conundrum 🛩️

The AG report says “relying on external resources” contributed to ArriveCan’s mismanagement. I think we rely on external resources to get around our onerous IT processes.

Let's adapt, not retrench.

federal-field-notes.ca/articles/2024-…

The Radical How: What would it take to run a mission-oriented government?
My attempt to summarise an ace new report by Tom Loosemore Andrew Greenway and the folks at Public Digital
and Nesta medium.com/@jamestplunket…
(Read the report - it's much better than my post!)

The Future of Government Awards are happening tomorrow! 8am ET. Register here: futureofgovernment.com/en

A former top civil servant in the government’s digital unit: “It’s not a question of whether there will be another Post Office Horizon scandal . It’s when.” theneweuropean.co.uk/the-next-post-…

If you think *any* civil service reform is going to free up meaningful money for tax cuts (let alone this gimmick) you you don't have a clue how government finance works.

'If govts continue to use big IT firms to run entire national services, more ruined lives & scandals are inevitable' Agree with Mike Bracken (@IIPP_UCL). As Rosie Collington & I show in BIG CON, govts use of IT consultancies weakens capacity & accountability ft.com/content/6b1f9c…

X will provide DHSC with a tool to support ministerial appointments by analysing posts by potential applicants to positions within government
civilserviceworld.com/professions/ar…

I've written about user centred IT: why 'best practice' isn't good enough in the domain of Information Technology

public.digital/2024/01/17/use…

This is spot on.

Mike Bracken ran GDS, a brave attempt to stop government handing billions to giant tech companies to build doomed IT systems like Horizon. But the Whitehall mandarins weren’t having that…

If I were a new Secretary of State arriving at DHSC, one question I'd be asking is why is it so dang hard to have a single patient record. Here are some quick thoughts on that fiendish question.
public.digital/2024/01/11/how…

New Year’s gifts for the NHS #ClinicalAIFellows from our friends Public Digital!

The strategy is delivery 🎁