On 9 October 2025, the ACE-PCF Secretariat were delighted to host a roundtable for members focused on trust in public services.
Public trust is the cornerstone of effective public services, enabling collaboration, driving compliance and sustaining legitimacy. But across the country that trust and satisfaction with public services is at its lowest level in the past five years, according to Ipsos. Their latest statistics show the public are increasingly questioning the performance of services, their legitimacy, and accountability.
The Leading for Trust Roundtable aimed to inspire actionable insight that can lead to public bodies confronting the collapse of trust. It explored the latest data about public attitudes and expectations as well as strategies organisations can employ to (re)build confidence through leadership and meaningful engagement.
Using the expertise of leaders who have turned around trust deficits and insights from our guest speakers, members came together to reflect on factors that influence accountability, transparency and trustworthiness. Beyond the rational and moral choices, the public are making when it comes to trusting public institutions, the conversation focused on how leaders can create a culture of trustworthiness within their organisations, fostering transparency when mistakes occur and building credibility.
Some key takeaways from the session:
- Trustworthiness for public sector organisations is built on an organisational culture which pairs expertise with humility;
- Trust-building is a process which requires constant, honest and efficient communication with the public, adapting messages to different audiences, generations and modern communications platforms;
- Public confidence is built and maintained through meaningful engagement with the community, including through trauma-led approaches, where necessary.
With special thanks to our guest speakers:
- Emma Rourke, Acting National Statistician, Office for National Statistics
- Nathan Bransden, Director, Strategy and Advisory and Daniel Cameron, Research Director, Ipsos UK
- Matthew Gill, Programme Director, Institute for Government
- Jo Clift, Chair, General Osteopathic Council
- Ben Connah, Inquiry Secretary, UK Covid-19 Inquiry
- David Foley, Interim Chief Executive, Infected Blood Compensation Authority
- Vicky Fox, Chief Executive, Supreme Court
- Professor Gerry Stoker, Chair in Governance, University of Southampton
and our hosts:
- Keith Fraser, Chair of the Public Chairs Forum and Youth Justice Board
- Elysia McCaffrey, Chief Executive of the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority and ACE Board member
View the programme for 2025/26 here.
If you have recommendations for new and inspiring voices, email ACE and PCF secretariat at secretariat@publicchairsforum.org.uk.