Gavin Freeguard

@gavinfreeguard

Data/govt etc freelancer gavinfreeguard.com Starting @sotf.org.uk @connectedbydata.org, Data Bites @publicdigital.bsky.social, @instituteforgovernment.org.uk, Think Digital Partners, @kinship.works, @transformgovtalks.bsky.social Pic @paulclarke.com

2.242 Folgt6.102 Follower1.450 Posts

YouTube Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir gavinfreeguard.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 3d

The name's Bundt... James Bundt

A ticket for the queue at Dunn's Bakery with the call number 007. You know, like that James Bond fella

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 4d

According to @dsonic.bsky.social over on The Other Place (h/t a civil society colleague), the DCMS ministerial briefs have been announced Steph Peacock (who shadowed data/digital infrastructure in opposition) gets GDS, not Ian Murray (who had been minister for GDS while at DSIT)

A screenshot of a tweet by Doniya Soni-Clark which reads:

Confirmed DCMS briefs!

Ian Murray MP, Minister of State

Responsible for:
• Media (including BBC Charter Review)
• Online harms and misinformation
• Creative industries
• Telecommunications, digital infrastructure and Ofcom
• International

Stephanie Peacock MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Sports
• Ceremonials
• Tourism
• Office for the Impact Economy
• Government Digital Service (Digital Products & Digital Transformation)
• Place - overview of DMCS’s overall impact and presence in communities and responsibility for place based programmes including the allocation of arts funding in Arts Everywhere and Town and City of Culture.

Baroness Twycross, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Heritage, including world and living heritage
• Covid commemoration
• Appointments
• ALBs (general oversight and reform)
• Honours
• Corporate Minister

A screenshot of a tweet by Doniya Soni-Clark (continued) which reads:

Ruth Mackenzie, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Arts Council and sponsorship
• Museums and cultural property (including the museums funding in Arts Everywhere)
• Libraries

Vicky Foxcroft, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Youth
• Civil Society
• Gambling
• National Lottery
• Digital Inclusion and Skills

Baroness Lloyd, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Minister for Space, Cyber and Regulatory Reform joint with BSIT

Responsible for:
• National Cyber Security
• Government Cyber Security
• Spectrum Negotiations (with Minister Murray. POs will provide further guidance)

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 15d

- And encouraging to see 'the outcomes framework for mayoral strategic authorities' which will help govt and public hold mayors to account, but (as per blogpost yesterday) I think we need a bigger conversation about how we usefully do this to measure, drive & communicate progress and impact

A screenshot from my post, 'The State of the Present: Andy Burnham’s new government', which reads:

Finally, one thing I’ve not yet seen is how the new government intends to measure, drive and communicate progress against its agenda and the impact it’s having. Government’s approach to performance measurement has gone off the boil in recent years — the Blair government’s Public Service Agreements, the Coalition’s Departmental Business Plans, even the more recent Outcome Delivery Plans are fading memories. In the run up to the 2024 general election, there was very little discussion of how the Starmer government’s ‘missions’ would be measured: when I asked departments what data would be used in their stocktake meetings with the PM, those that answered refused to tell me. Tellingly, none of them even pointed me at the published high-level measure for each mission.

We have potentially more data available than ever before to support such analysis; we know better now the limitations of relying only on data to think about government’s performance and impact; we have a new government that wants to restore the public’s faith in politics. It’s an odd gap in the conversation about government, and one we’re hoping to fill (more to follow).

Source: https://medium.com/state-of-the-future/the-state-of-the-present-andy-burnhams-new-government-e1c31e9a358a

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 15d

- Good that this will be a 'major part' of the Civil Service review, but still need to guard against reform-as-AI-enabled-job cuts (as per medium.com/state-of-the...) - Replace consultation by default with new methods of public participation, bring public and civil society into policy-making 🥳

A screenshot from the Cabinet Statement, reading:

'We agreed to replace the current model of consultation by default with new and modern forms of public participation. This includes considering where performative statutory duties to consult can be revoked and how we can more actively bring the public into the policy-making process instead. This recognises that local leaders are better equipped to link public opinion and civil society to policy making.'

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rewiring-the-state-cabinet-statement/rewiring-the-state-cabinet-statement-html

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 22d

It really was - a massive thank you to everyone who came (an unconference is made by the people who turn up) and all the sponsors, organisers, volunteers who made it possible! We'll be publishing a report summarising the key themes, so look out for that in September

I'm on stage pointing towards something (the boards where the Policy Camp agenda will be decided), wearing a Policy Camp t-shirt behind a lectern with 'Policy Camp' on it. Photo CC-BY, Ned Gartside/Policy Camp.

Lots of people crowd around boards with post-it notes, where people are suggesting sessions for the Policy Camp agenda. They are in front of a huge screen displaying colourful dots as part of an artwork celebrating UCL's 200th anniversary. Photo CC-BY, Ned Gartside/Policy Camp.

People stand in front of the agenda boards which are covered in post-its, and are adding sticky dots showing which sessions they'd like to go to. Photo CC-BY, Ned Gartside/Policy Camp.

Post-its covered in dots on the board, with a hand removing one of them as the agenda comes together. Photo CC-BY, Ned Gartside/Policy Camp.

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 25d

(Timely surfacing of this quote from @jillongovt.bsky.social & @hcdunlop.bsky.social in their piece on the Burnham government scrapping digital ID)

Screenshot of a quote from an IfG post on digital ID (https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/andy-burnhams-id-card-scrap):

When Keir Starmer unveiled his plan to introduce digital ID cards for mandatory right to work checks last September, there were many sceptical voices. One was the former mayor of Greater Manchester, who said days after the announcement at Labour conference: “I think there’s a risk of an opportunity cost situation here, where something can consume a huge amount of time and actually doesn’t come through. And that will be the lesson about [the ID card plans in the] 2005 to 2010 Parliament; it consumed a lot of air time and it didn’t actually materialize”.

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 25d

But. The next election has to happen by Aug 2029 – not long. The country faces big domestic/international challenges. The Burnham Govt is already talking an ambitious game about remaking the state (devo etc). You really want to spend political capital, time, energy, money on this? Now?

A still from a documentary where former Danish PM, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, looks up at her husband, Stephen Kinnock MP (and new Welsh Secretary), asking 'Why are you doing this now?'

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 25d

Anyway. Has DSIT been an unqualified success? No. Low morale, perpetual restructuring, leadership questions (chief data officer lasted months; think you can be perm sec *and* govt chief digital officer? Good luck with that), slow progress in key policy areas, in hoc to US big tech/AI hype… etc

A chart of the Engagement Index scores from the Civil Service People Survey (where civil servants are surveyed on how they feel about about their departments and work). This shows DSIT's score falling from 60.3 in 2023 to 57.6 in 2025 - below the Civil Service median and the other departments created in February 2023.

A chart of the 'leadership and managing change' scores from the Civil Service People Survey (where civil servants are surveyed on how they feel about about their departments and work). This shows DSIT's score falling by 8 points to 49% from 2024 to 2025.

A chart of the 'organisational objectives and purpose' scores from the Civil Service People Survey (where civil servants are surveyed on how they feel about about their departments and work). These questions test whether employees are clear on their organisation's objectives and where their work fits into it.

The chart shows DSIT's score falling by 12 points to 63% in 2025, lower than any other central government department.

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 25d

DCMS has reacquired 'Digital' in its title. Minister for AI, Kanishka Narayan, is listed as Cabinet Office & the (new) Dept for Business, Innovation, Science & Trade - though was originally put in DCMS rather than DBIST, which doesn't inspire huge confidence in these changes being thought through

A screenshot of the Wayback Machine capturing the 'ministerial appointments' page on GOV.UK. It reads 'Kanishka Narayan MP as Minister of State (Minister for Artificial Intelligence) jointly in the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. He will attend Cabinet.'

The current version shows this to be a mistake, with Narayan listed as Cabinet Office and DBIST https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ministerial-appointments-july-2026

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 25d

So. Farewell then, DSIT (7 February 2023 – 20 July 2026) For all the department’s challenges, I’m not sure it’s a great idea to abolish it 🧵

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· 26d

For reference (I make it 16 Cabinet departures during the Truss to Sunak transition)

An IfG chart from 2022, when Liz Truss succeeded Boris Johnson as prime minister, mid-parliamentary term. It shows that 4 ministers left Cabinet under the Thatcher-Major transition (1990), 11 between Blair and Brown (2007), 13 Cameron-May (2016), 19 May-Johnson (2019) and 14 Johnson-Truss (2022).

Source: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/liz-truss-government-formation-september-2022

Source for Truss-Sunak transition https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/rishi-sunak-pm-cabinet-reshuffle-october-2022

I think we did this chart for the first time in July 2019 when Boris Johnson became PM

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Jul 7

I also vividly remember* some breathless reporting about how Davis' resignation was unprecedented when there was indeed a precedent Question: who is this quote from? Answer: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_poli... *yes, I am that cool

A quote from a BBC story reading:

"This resignation is quite extraordinary and without precedent that I can think of in British politics and means that politics is now utterly unpredictable"

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Jul 3

I've just had the official response to this Freedom of Information request. Which says Cabinet Office is withholding the information, as it will be published in future. Even though it was published two days ago. 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

Text from a Cabinet Office response to a Freedom of Information request, which reads:

The information you have requested is being withheld as it is exempt under section 22(1) of the Act. Section 22(1) of the Act protects information intended for future publication. Section 22(1) of the Act is a qualified exemption and we have considered whether the balance of the public interest favours maintaining the exemption in section 22(1) or disclosing the information.

We recognise the public interest in demonstrating transparency by releasing information to the public. We also appreciate that this increases public trust and that the public benefits from being kept informed about matters affecting them.

However, there is a public interest in cost effectiveness in how the Government publishes information. Section 22(1) of the Act acknowledges that public authorities must have freedom to be able to determine their own publication timetables. This allows them to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publication. It is a part of the effective conduct of public affairs that the general publication of information is a conveniently planned and managed activity within the reasonable control of public authorities. As there is a commitment to publish, we are reasonably entitled to make our own arrangements to do so.

After weighing up the competing public interest considerations, we consider it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information held should be withheld from disclosure until the future date of publication (section 22(1)(c)) and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure at this time.

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Jul 3

🚨 LAST DAY TO APPLY 🚨 More than 500 people have now applied for a ticket for the first ever @policycamp.bsky.social, taking place at UCL on Thursday 23 July Applications close TONIGHT at 11.59pm - the ballot takes place over the weekend Last chance to apply for a ticket: policycamp.org.uk

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· May 19

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Apr 30

The next TransformGov Talks will be on THURSDAY (not Wednesday) 21 May, kindly hosted by our sponsors @publicdigital.bsky.social in Holborn Speakers include Caitlin Wakeford, LNER, on how to use AI to prototype quickly, centre the user & not get stuck in magical thinking Join us luma.com/zgd2gv3p

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Apr 30

A massive thank you to Rebekah and Lisa @local.gov.uk and Jonathan Slater for a brilliant @transformgovtalks.bsky.social last night - lots to ponder on local government and central government/civil service reform! You can watch/listen back here medium.com/@transformgo...

Rebekah Wilson from the Local Government Association presents at TransformGov Talks. She is stood in front of a green TransformGov Talks banner, and behind a lectern and laptop

Lisa Trickey from the Local Government Association presents at TransformGov Talks. She is stood in front of a green TransformGov Talks banner, and behind a lectern and laptop

Jonathan Slater presents at TransformGov Talks. He is stood in front of a slide, reading

'Jonathan Slater
Visiting Professor, King's College London & QMUL
Civil service reform'

and a table with chairs behind

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Apr 28

Shocking discrimination from Waterstones Crouch End

A photo of the window of Waterstones bookshop in Crouch End with a sign reading

No Pokemon
No Needoh

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Apr 19

The almost inevitable culmination of @aliceolilly.bsky.social's love-hate relationship with snooker

Gavin and Alice stood in front of the Crucible theatre

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Apr 12

Ran! Finished! Pretty happy with the time! Never doing it again!

Photo of a Brighton Marathon Finisher medal

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Mar 18

Schrödinger's station (Pretty poor content design tbh)

A screenshot of TfL's webpage for Turnpike Lane Station. It gives a live status of the station being quieter than usual, then a pale yellow box saying there are reported access issues - this has to be expanded to show that the station is in fact closed due to flooding. Below is a live arrivals table showing when trains are arriving at the station.

https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZLUTPN/turnpike-lane-underground-station?lineId=piccadilly

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Mar 2

Here @instituteforgovernment.org.uk to hear leader of @plaidcymru.bsky.social, @rhunapiorwerth.bsky.social in conversation with @akashpaun.bsky.social

Akash Paun and Rhun ap Iorwerth on stage at the IfG

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Feb 27

We had a couple of Data Bites specials on that theme last year: public.digital/pd-insights/... public.digital/pd-insights/..., which includes Defra's Tom Parry talking about GDSA

DWP's Ishmael Burdeau presents, virtually, at Data Bites 54, an environment and sustainability special, in April 2025. He appears on a large screen - the wall behind has a lightning image - to the left of the screen I am sat - the back of audience members' heads are also visible

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Feb 21

sounds pretty difficult tbf

A BBC Sport headline reading, 'Team GB face uphill task for four-man bobsleigh medal'

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Feb 17

One of these BBC News headlines about an opposition party reshuffle is not like the others

BBC News headline from 4 September 2023: 'Angela Rayner handed new role as Keir Starmer reshuffles top team' (with photo of Starmer and Rayner)

BBC News headline from 4 November 2024: 'Jenrick accepts role in Badenoch's top team' (with photo of Badenoch and Jenrick)

BBC News headline from 22 July 2025: 'Cleverly returns to Tory front bench as Badenoch reshuffles team' (with photo of Badenoch)

BBC News headline from today, 17 February 2026: 'Reform names Robert Jenrick as pick for chancellor' (with photos of Jenrick, Farage, Yusuf)

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Feb 10

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

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

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Jan 29

A *huge* thank you to @lindasasta.bsky.social @mattwoodhill.bsky.social, Patrick and a brilliant audience for a great @transformgovtalks.bsky.social last night - our best attended so far! A big thank you to @tpximpact.com for hosting Write-up, video, podcast all here medium.com/@transformgo...

Linda O'Halloran presents at TransformGov Talks. She is stood on the left of the image - to the right is a screen with a blue slide and white text reading 'And we need more common language to deliver it'

Matt Wood-Hill presents at TransformGov Talks. He is stood on the left of the image - to the right is a screen with a slide on the MHCLG Digital Planning Programme

Patrick Diamond presents at TransformGov Talks. He is stood on the left of the image - to the right is a screen with a slide noting 'the dominant narrative about British government focuses on failure', with covers of the following books: The Blunders of Our Government (King/Crewe), Failures of State (Calvert/Arbuthnott) and Failed State (Freedman)

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Jan 20

Jones: everyone agrees status quo in public services isn't working. Frustrations at pace of change. But this diagnosis isn't new. Today isn't a speech of incremental change. Nor a populist one where sokution is to tear everything down. Instead, modernising - new consensus on what state does and how

Darren Jones at a lectern. Black backdrop has logos for Institute for Government, what3words and 'Move fast. Fix things'

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Jan 20

At what3words for Darren Jones speech on 'Move fast and fix things: modernising Whitehall to deliver for Britain' @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's Hannah White asks what will make this attempt at reform different - says what matters is what comes next

Gavin Freeguard@gavinfreeguard· Jan 19

Tell me now, how should I feel?