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Quango list shows 192 to be axed
BBC News - Quango list shows 192 to be axed
The list says more than 300 quangos will be retained The government has announced that 192 quangos are to be scrapped.
Some will be abolished altogether others will see their functions carried out by government or other bodies, the Cabinet Office says.
A further 118 will be merged. Some are still under consideration but 380 will be retained, according to the list.
Minister Francis Maude said they did not know how many jobs would go. Labour's Liam Byrne said the cull could end up costing more than it saved.
Q&A: What is a quango?
Quangos - "quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations" - are arm's-length bodies funded by Whitehall departments but not run by them.
The Tories and Lib Dems agreed to cut the number and cost of the bodies in their coalition agreement and had reviewed 901 bodies - 679 quangos and 222 other statutory bodies.
Many of the better known organisations due to be abolished had already been announced by the government. These include the UK Film Council, the Audit Commission, the Health Protection Agency, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and eight regional development agencies.
Among those the list confirms will be retained are Acas, the Competition Appeals Tribunal, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Low Pay Commission, UK Trade International, the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
Start Quote
The Tories now need to tell us whether their desperation for headlines and faster cuts means the cost of closing quangos is actually bigger than the savings”
End Quote
Liam Byrne
The list also confirms that the government intends to merge the Competition Commission with the Office of Fair Trading, Postcom and Ofcom will be merged as will the Gambling Commission and National Lottery Commission.
Asked about potential job losses, Cabinet Office Minister Mr Maude said: "We don't know at this stage ... All the staff in bodies that are affected are being communicated with today and the bodies and the departments which are responsible for them will be working out the detail over the months ahead."
He said it was right to get the "broad" plans out - but it was still a "work in progress" as some bodies were still under review. In future every three years each remaining quango would be subject to a review, to see if it is still needed.
He said he could not say how much money would be saved, but it would be "significant". The government argues that the plans are not primarily about saving money - but about increasing accountability, by having decisions taken by ministers where possible.
'Desperation for headlines'
Supporters say they have expertise and can operate without ministerial interference. Opponents argue that they decrease ministers' accountability and add costs.
Unions say many of the coalition's planned changes will damage public services, cost jobs and not result in government savings, as the expense involved in abolishing quangos will be large.
And shadow Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne said: "Labour had a plan for steadily saving £0.5bn by carefully closing 25% of quangos over the next few years.
"The Tories now need to tell us whether their desperation for headlines and faster cuts means the cost of closing quangos is actually bigger than the savings. And while they're at it, they should tell us whether their manifesto commitment for 20 new quangos is now on ice."
Mr Maude said to survive, quangos had to pass the tests including whether they carry out a role for which they needed to be politically impartial.
He told the BBC there was no "dogmatic" ban on any new quangos being set up, but he said too many had been set up at arm's length so minister's could "avoid taking decisions" or face difficult questions and he suggested there was much duplication of work by different bodies.
Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said the aim was to "deal with the proliferation and mess of having lots and lots of departmental bodies, some of which will have been set up with one objective in mind but the world's moved on".
'Cowardice'
A Public Bodies Bill is to be introduced to give government departments the power to cut or change the functions of bodies set up under statute.
The legislation will also mean that the power is in place to abolish quangos in future.
But Conservative MP Douglas Carswell told the BBC that "cowardice" of politicians of all parties had contributed to the growth and that Parliament, rather than the government, should be in charge of monitoring the situation.
Ian Magee, a senior fellow at the Institute of Government who authored a report on quangos in July, told the BBC there appeared to be a "change in rhetoric" in recent weeks from the government - who were now talking more about restoring accountability rather than saving substantial sums.
He said simply transferring functions from quangos to government departments would not save much money.
"For example, of the 700-plus bodies that there are, something like 15 of them spend 80% of the money. And indeed, 75% of the money is in grants, university grants or legal aid that is passed on to others.
"So unless you get rid of those functions altogether, you're not going to save a great deal of money. That doesn't mean there isn't scope for efficiency."
And Mike O'Connor - head of Consumer Focus, which will see its functions transferred to the Citizens Advice Bureau, said his body cost £5m a year - but added: "Our victories for consumers far outweigh that. Just last week we got NPower to repay £70m to consumers as a result of using our legal powers to investigate what's going on in the market and speaking up for consumers".
First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said: "We are disappointed with some of the changes the UK government has announced today and are concerned at the way in which the review has been rushed through with limited opportunity to work through all the practical implications from the Welsh perspective."
BBC News - Quango list shows 192 to be axed
The list says more than 300 quangos will be retained The government has announced that 192 quangos are to be scrapped.
Some will be abolished altogether others will see their functions carried out by government or other bodies, the Cabinet Office says.
A further 118 will be merged. Some are still under consideration but 380 will be retained, according to the list.
Minister Francis Maude said they did not know how many jobs would go. Labour's Liam Byrne said the cull could end up costing more than it saved.
Q&A: What is a quango?
Quangos - "quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations" - are arm's-length bodies funded by Whitehall departments but not run by them.
The Tories and Lib Dems agreed to cut the number and cost of the bodies in their coalition agreement and had reviewed 901 bodies - 679 quangos and 222 other statutory bodies.
Many of the better known organisations due to be abolished had already been announced by the government. These include the UK Film Council, the Audit Commission, the Health Protection Agency, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and eight regional development agencies.
Among those the list confirms will be retained are Acas, the Competition Appeals Tribunal, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Low Pay Commission, UK Trade International, the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
Start Quote
The Tories now need to tell us whether their desperation for headlines and faster cuts means the cost of closing quangos is actually bigger than the savings”
End Quote
Liam Byrne
The list also confirms that the government intends to merge the Competition Commission with the Office of Fair Trading, Postcom and Ofcom will be merged as will the Gambling Commission and National Lottery Commission.
Asked about potential job losses, Cabinet Office Minister Mr Maude said: "We don't know at this stage ... All the staff in bodies that are affected are being communicated with today and the bodies and the departments which are responsible for them will be working out the detail over the months ahead."
He said it was right to get the "broad" plans out - but it was still a "work in progress" as some bodies were still under review. In future every three years each remaining quango would be subject to a review, to see if it is still needed.
He said he could not say how much money would be saved, but it would be "significant". The government argues that the plans are not primarily about saving money - but about increasing accountability, by having decisions taken by ministers where possible.
'Desperation for headlines'
Supporters say they have expertise and can operate without ministerial interference. Opponents argue that they decrease ministers' accountability and add costs.
Unions say many of the coalition's planned changes will damage public services, cost jobs and not result in government savings, as the expense involved in abolishing quangos will be large.
And shadow Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne said: "Labour had a plan for steadily saving £0.5bn by carefully closing 25% of quangos over the next few years.
"The Tories now need to tell us whether their desperation for headlines and faster cuts means the cost of closing quangos is actually bigger than the savings. And while they're at it, they should tell us whether their manifesto commitment for 20 new quangos is now on ice."
Mr Maude said to survive, quangos had to pass the tests including whether they carry out a role for which they needed to be politically impartial.
He told the BBC there was no "dogmatic" ban on any new quangos being set up, but he said too many had been set up at arm's length so minister's could "avoid taking decisions" or face difficult questions and he suggested there was much duplication of work by different bodies.
Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said the aim was to "deal with the proliferation and mess of having lots and lots of departmental bodies, some of which will have been set up with one objective in mind but the world's moved on".
'Cowardice'
A Public Bodies Bill is to be introduced to give government departments the power to cut or change the functions of bodies set up under statute.
The legislation will also mean that the power is in place to abolish quangos in future.
But Conservative MP Douglas Carswell told the BBC that "cowardice" of politicians of all parties had contributed to the growth and that Parliament, rather than the government, should be in charge of monitoring the situation.
Ian Magee, a senior fellow at the Institute of Government who authored a report on quangos in July, told the BBC there appeared to be a "change in rhetoric" in recent weeks from the government - who were now talking more about restoring accountability rather than saving substantial sums.
He said simply transferring functions from quangos to government departments would not save much money.
"For example, of the 700-plus bodies that there are, something like 15 of them spend 80% of the money. And indeed, 75% of the money is in grants, university grants or legal aid that is passed on to others.
"So unless you get rid of those functions altogether, you're not going to save a great deal of money. That doesn't mean there isn't scope for efficiency."
And Mike O'Connor - head of Consumer Focus, which will see its functions transferred to the Citizens Advice Bureau, said his body cost £5m a year - but added: "Our victories for consumers far outweigh that. Just last week we got NPower to repay £70m to consumers as a result of using our legal powers to investigate what's going on in the market and speaking up for consumers".
First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, said: "We are disappointed with some of the changes the UK government has announced today and are concerned at the way in which the review has been rushed through with limited opportunity to work through all the practical implications from the Welsh perspective."