Whither quangos?
Quangos (Quasi-non-governmental organizations), a star feature of Margaret Thatcher's efforts to dilute the political and regulatory power of Labour politicians and bureaucrats are no longer Tory pets. They've grown and multiplied, but the new government promised to cut quangos as well as the budget. However, the PM was not happy that someone leaked the list of organizations to be eliminated.Ministers plan to axe 177 quangos, according to leaked list
Government ministers have drawn up a list of 177 quangos to be abolished, it was reported today.
A further 94 of the tax-funded bodies are also under threat of being scrapped…
Four quangos will be privatised, 129 will be merged, and 350 have won a reprieve. The scale of the cuts, if confirmed, is likely to prove controversial…
According to the list, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will take the biggest hit – losing more than 50 quangos, followed by the Department of Health, which will see about 30 bodies abolished or their functions transferred to the department…
A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said… "The government has made it clear that it is committed to radically increasing accountability and improving efficiency. As part of this, work is already under way to make substantial reforms to its public bodies. We deeply regret any extra uncertainty for employees that this irresponsible leak has caused."
The number of quangos under Labour was estimated to have reached more than 1,000, employing more than 700,000 people and costing almost £65bn.
Cabinet Office orders investigation into leaked quangos document
The government today ordered an investigation into the leaking of documents suggesting that as many as 180 taxpayer-funded quangos are to be abolished.
A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office described the leak as "irresponsible" and said the government regretted any extra uncertainty it had caused to employees of the public bodies named…
Minsters have previously declared they want a "bonfire of the quangos" to save billions of pounds. But such a cull would also cost thousands of jobs and provoke controversy from those that accuse the government of removing vital protection for the public…
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Labels: bureaucracy, politics, UK
posted by Ken Wedding @ 6:15 AM
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Government scraps 192 quangos
"The government… delivered its promised 'bonfire of the quangos', abolishing 192 government agencies, merging another 118 and substantially reforming a further 171.
Thousands of jobs will go and as many will be transferred into new departments. It amounts to the biggest shakeup of government the coalition has made to date…
The government is now emphasising that the reforms are to drive accountability of the organisations, rowing back from previous claims that they it would save money. Many of the closures are not expected to save money for many years after their liabilities in pensions, redundancies and contracts are paid. Labour accused the coalition of "chasing headlines" by making the closures...
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