In this episode of The Next 20, Chris Bradley is joined by Liz Williams - who has spent her career working alongside people with learning disabilities and autistic people - to discuss a project commissioned by Surrey Heartlands to better understand the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities.Published in 2022, the report explored how factors such as deprivation, living circumstances and access to services influence health outcomes for people with learning disabilities across Surrey Heartlands. The work aimed to strengthen understanding of the causes of long-term inequalities and support efforts to reduce the significant gap in life expectancy compared with the wider population.Drawing on the findings of the project, Liz reflects on what the data revealed, why local insight matters when addressing inequalities, and how systems can use evidence to target support where it can have the greatest impact.

Public attitudes to AI have shifted sharply in just a few years, from ambivalence to excitement to, increasingly, active dislike. That shift deserves to be taken seriously, not managed away.In this episode of The PSC In Conversation, part of our The Next 20 Series, Antonio and Shuying make the case for a genuine national conversations on AI.They discuss:- Why trust in AI is falling in the UK and US, while countries like Brazil and India remain optimistic, and what that splintering of views tells us.- The biggest unanswered question of all: who benefits, and by how much? No government anywhere has the answer yet.- Why the public often knows things policymakers don't: from red lines and risk thresholds to how change lands in real lives.- The ladder of citizen participation, from consultation to full co-production, and lessons from the Timms Review with DWP, the Cabinet Office, UKRI, DARE UK and BridgeAI.- How to design engagement that's meaningful rather than extractive: real trade-offs, real feedback loops, real influence on outcomes.The honest starting point is uncertainty. General purpose technologies change everything, and there's no implicit reason they change things for the better without deliberate direction. The public's worries, priorities and red lines aren't obstacles to navigate, they're a vital evidence base.

What role should commissioning play in delivering the NHS's future vision?In this episode of The Next 20, Jonathan Chappell is joined by Dr Kathy McLean, clinician, commissioner and Chair of The PSC, to explore the future of commissioning in an NHS shaped by neighbourhood health, prevention and population-based care.They discuss strategic commissioning, reducing health inequalities, the opportunities presented by the NHS 10 Year Plan, and why understanding local populations will be critical to delivering better outcomes over the next two decades.As Kathy reflects: "At the end of the day, it's about people."

In this episode of The PSC in Conversation: The Next 20, Dr Antonio Weiss is joined by Professor Paul Bate, former Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency and a The PSC alumnus, to explore what the space sector can teach us about innovation, leadership and the future of public services.Reflecting on a career spanning the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, Number 10, the Care Quality Commission and the UK Space Agency, Paul discusses how reusable launch technology transformed the economics of space, why the UK remains globally competitive, and the opportunities created when world-class research meets practical innovation.The conversation also looks beyond space. Antonio and Paul explore how technology is reshaping healthcare, education and public services, why personalisation will become increasingly important, and why organisations should start with people and disruptive technologies rather than treating them as enablers of change.

In this episode of The PSC in Conversation: The Next 20, Eli Bond is joined by Laura Churchill, Chief Strategy Officer at Central London Community Healthcare, to explore the future of community care and what neighbourhood health means in practice.Laura reflects on why community care is still often misunderstood, despite being one of the broadest and most important parts of the health and care system. From school nursing and rehabilitation to virtual wards and urgent community response, she discusses the scale and diversity of services delivered close to people’s homes, and why the future of care depends on moving beyond transactional models towards prevention, independence and whole-person wellbeing.Together, Eli and Laura explore the realities of left shift, the operational and structural friction points that can hold neighbourhood health back, and the challenge of delivering community-focused outcomes through institutionally organised systems. They also discuss the importance of incentives, integration, workforce models and technology design in enabling more joined-up care.

In this episode of The PSC in Conversation: The Next 20, Chris Bradley is joined by Rachel Kemp, Director of Home First Transformation across Hull and East Riding, to explore one of the NHS’s most persistent operational challenges: delayed discharge.Drawing on a major transformation programme delivered across councils, NHS organisations, charities and community providers, the conversation examines what it really takes to improve patient flow and reduce delays safely. Together, they discuss the complexity of discharge pathways, the importance of shared accountability across organisations, and why sustainable improvement depends as much on culture and operational discipline as it does on technology.

In this episode of The PSC in Conversation: The Next 20, Jonathan Chappell is joined by The PSC colleagues Jack Robinson, Joe Cruden and Hailey Blanchard to explore what the shift from analogue to digital really means in practice for the NHS.Drawing on frontline clinical experience and system-wide transformation work, they discuss three critical areas: improving administrative processes, the role of AI in clinical care, and how digital tools can empower patients.From the complexity of discharge pathways to the realities of implementing new technologies under pressure, the conversation highlights both the opportunity and the challenge of change. What emerges is a clear message: digital transformation is not about technology alone, but about redesigning services around patients, supporting clinicians, and building the case for change across the system.

In this episode of The PSC in Conversation: The Next 20, Associate Partner Eli Bond is joined by Simon Wheatley, Director of Place for West and North London, and Matthew Walker, Chief Executive of the National Association for Primary Care, to explore the future of primary care. They discuss how demand, expectations and complexity have changed over the past 20 years, what neighbourhood health means in practice, and why the future of primary care depends on getting both the relational and operational basics right.

Artificial intelligence is now firmly part of the public service landscape. The question is no longer whether it will be used, but how – and to what end. In this special episode of The Next 20, held with a live studio audience, Antonio Weiss speaks with Vikie Bew, former Deputy Director at the UK Government’s Incubator for AI and an alumna of 2020 Delivery (now The PSC), about what it really takes to apply AI in public services. What emerges is not a story about technology alone, but about judgement – how leaders balance opportunity with risk, how they focus on impact, and how they navigate implementation inside complex systems.

As The Next 20 series continues, Aoife Clark is joined by Senior Partner Antonio Weiss and The PSC Co-founder Russell Cake to pause and reflect on what we have heard so far from leaders across public services.After eight episodes spanning community and social care, mental health, innovation, education, debt advice and organisational culture, a consistent set of themes has emerged. Public services are facing rising demand, widening expectations and growing complexity – but there are also practical choices leaders can make now to respond more effectively.From public value design and innovation to the role of AI and the challenge of meeting 21st-century pressures with 21st-century system design, this episode explores what public service leaders should focus on now – and what the series is telling us about the years ahead.