Director @re-state.bsky.social; all things State and public services.https://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.social/post/3mulx4fpx3k2oFailing to address poor performers in Whitehall is failing to serve the public When we published 'Making the grade' 2 years ago, arguing Whitehall largely ignores poor performance, we had an outpouring from civil servants of 'thank god someone is saying this' 🧵03 Sep 2026 07:40 +0000at://did:plc:ld4a7go2vapso23mltbcbqzx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mulx4fpx3k2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.social/post/3mtdtbv3w4c2uReform published a major paper on reforming welfare yesterday, I read it so you don't have to! Here's my take aways... Spoiler: agree or disagree, I think it's a way more serious contribution than you might expect Whether it's politically do-able tho... https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-reform-uk-proposing-welfare-how-plausible-charlotte-pickles-nfqae/18 Aug 2026 08:45 +0000at://did:plc:ld4a7go2vapso23mltbcbqzx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtdtbv3w4c2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.social/post/3ms6rzcfqfs2zOur social care proposals made the headlines, but it seems maybe some people didn't go & read the (78 page) report behind them (😮) So I thought I'd clear up some misunderstandings & challenge some of the more unserious takes Do disagree, but do so on the facts https://restate.substack.com/p/getting-serious-about-social-care03 Aug 2026 15:14 +0000at://did:plc:ld4a7go2vapso23mltbcbqzx/app.bsky.feed.post/3ms6rzcfqfs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.social/post/3mrwj44jc7226What might Burnham's fiscal devo mean for current strategic authorities? We worked out what assigning 1p, 2p and 2.5p in each pound of basic rate income tax would mean in revenue terms 🧵31 Jul 2026 08:13 +0000at://did:plc:ld4a7go2vapso23mltbcbqzx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrwj44jc7226https://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.social/post/3mrrp565x7s2zSocial care - the third rail of British politics Great to see Burnham acting on, rather than just talking about, the social care crisis But there is a real risk that the choices he makes could actually make things worse... 🧵29 Jul 2026 10:18 +0000at://did:plc:ld4a7go2vapso23mltbcbqzx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrrp565x7s2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.social/post/3mrchruxv422iWhitehall has a people problem Talent is not taken seriously enough; the Civil Service is bad at deploying & rewarding it. It's also very bad at dealing with poor performers (a source of deep source of frustration for talented officials) Whitehall needs to fix it's talent problem 🧵23 Jul 2026 08:56 +0000at://did:plc:ld4a7go2vapso23mltbcbqzx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrchruxv422ihttps://bsky.app/profile/charliepickles.bsky.social/post/3mr5e6sldg22mHow do you build No 10 North? PM Burnham has promised to create a new, powerful entity in Manchester to help drive his devo agenda & rebalance power in the country But what should it actually *do* & *how* can Burnham build it? 🧵21 Jul 2026 08:09 +0000at://did:plc:ld4a7go2vapso23mltbcbqzx/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr5e6sldg22m