Workings of Whitehall: Key Players in the Policy Making Process
A dynamic seminar looking at how the Civil Service functions, how policy is made, and how to engage with Whitehall.
Please note that this is an in-person only event. Workings of Whitehall alternates between virtual and in-person with the next virtual workshop due to take place in late 2025.
Workings of Whitehall is a dynamic seminar delivered by current and former senior civil servants, giving participants the opportunity to learn about how the Civil Service functions, who the key figures in the policymaking process are, and how to engage with Whitehall.
Participants have the opportunity to learn about how policies are made, gain insights into the role of The Treasury, Cabinet Office and No. 10, understand the relationship between a Special Adviser, a Minister, and a Permanent Secretary, and learn how to engage with the Civil Service.
This seminar is ideal for anyone new to the Civil Service, individuals new to working in public affairs or government engagement in the private or not-for-profit sector, and those interfacing with central government from other public bodies.
Sessions will cover:
- An overview of the Civil Service, The Cabinet Office and key policymakers
- A look at the policymaking process
- A policy case study with an interactive group activity
- The role of HM Treasury
- How one can engage with Whitehall
- The role of the Permanent Secretary and Special Adviser
Please direct queries to [email protected]
Confirmed Speakers
The Rt Hon Baroness Morgan of Cotes was Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 24 July 2019 to 13 February 2020. She served as Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities from July 2014 to July 2016. She served as an Assistant Whip in the coalition government until her appointment as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in October 2013. Nicky served as Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Minister for Women from April until July 2014. She was elected Conservative MP for Loughborough in 2010.
Sir Philip Rutnam was Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport 2012-17 and the Home Office 2017-20, and before that was Acting Permanent Secretary and Director General at the Department for Business. He was previously a senior civil servant at the Treasury where he worked for 15 years. He has also worked outside the Civil Service at Morgan Stanley and at Ofcom where he was a member of the board. He also represented the UK on the board of the European Investment Bank.
Professor Tim Leunig is a multiple-international prize-winning economist.
He has taught at the LSE for 25 years, and at Oxford, and held visiting faculty positions in the US and Europe.
He has worked for the UK government for over 10 years, including serving as economic adviser to two chancellors (Javid, Sunak), three housing secretaries (Clarke, Javid, Gove), and as chief analyst and chief scientific advisor at the Department for Education. In government, he invented the UK furlough scheme during covid, saving more than 3 million jobs. He also invented the post-covid rent arbitration scheme, the schools national funding formula, and the method by which we assess the effectiveness of secondary schools, Progress 8. He is Director, Public First Consulting, and an Associate Member of Nuffield College, Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Historical Society and a Governor of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
Olly Newton spent 12 years in the Department for Education working on policies including 14-19 diplomas, raising the participation age and finally as Head of Apprenticeship Strategy. Olly is now Executive Director of the Edge Foundation, where he oversees a programme of primary research, is lead author on all of the charity’s policy reports and runs the Edge Future Learning delivery programme for schools and colleges.
In his spare time, Olly volunteers with the Scout Association, is Enterprise Adviser for Firth Park Academy and supports community theatre in Sheffield.
TICKETS
Member Early Bird Ticket: £300 + VAT (until Friday 10 January)
Non-Member Early Bird Ticket: £450 + VAT (until Friday 10 January)
Member Ticket: £400 + VAT
Non-Member Ticket: £550 + VAT
Email [email protected] to find out more and to request an invoice.
Please note all attendees must register in advance to attend WIG events and may be asked to show photo ID on arrival.
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