Two years after the publication of the Declaration on Government Reform, the UK government has set out a long-awaited refresh of its civil service reform programme. Cabinet Office minister, Jeremy Quin, detailed his priorities for the civil service on 19 July 2023, focusing on specialisation, more access to outside voices and fresh ideas, staying longer in post, delivering certainty on what we are seeking to achieve and benefiting from crisp evaluation on whether we have, while embracing the digital future which will transform all our working lives.

At the same time, five ‘reform missions’ were announced, with little fanfare, on GOV.UK. This insight paper offers the Institute for Government's view on the new changes.