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Quango reforms “herald new age of accountability in Government”
As part of the Government’s commitment to radically increase the transparency and accountability of all public services, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, today summarised plans to substantially reform a large number of public bodies and also announced further proposals.
The Government intends to introduce a Public Bodies Bill that will enable many of these plans to be implemented.
The reform process, which covered all of HM Government’s Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), as well as other bodies, such as some non-ministerial departments and some public corporations, will “help to reinvigorate the public’s trust in democracy and also ensure that the Government operates in a more efficient and business-like way.”
The Government proposes to reform 481 bodies. Of these 192 will cease to be public bodies and their functions will either be brought back into Government, devolved to local government, moved out of Government or abolished altogether. Examples include:
As part of the reforms the Government is also announcing proposals to merge 118 bodies down to 57, and to substantially reform a further 171.
A proportion of public bodies will be retained and will remain at arm’s length from Government. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said:
“There are of course organisations that will remain, although it is unlikely that any will be completely unchanged. This is because we recognize that some of these bodies do hugely important and essential work that has to be done at arm’s length from Government, especially when political impartiality, independence or technical expertise is required.
“But those that remain will not be allowed to go back to the old way of working. As part of the reforms, we will also be introducing new transparency requirements, a new governance framework and a new review process to ensure that there is a robust and regular challenge of the continuing need for all the public bodies that remain.”
Organisations that will remain include:
- Technology Strategy Board (on the grounds of performing a function which requires impartiality).
- Ordnance Survey (on grounds of performing a technical function)
- Technical Advisory Board (on grounds of performing a technical function which should remain independent of Government)
- British Transport Police Authority (on grounds of performing a technical function which should remain independent from Government)
Organisations to be abolished include:
- Firebuy (abolish body and transfer procurement functions to alternative suppliers, and residual functions to department)
- National Policing Improvement Agency (currently considering which functions must be delivered nationally and where they should sit in a rationalised national policing landscape, as previously announced)
Organisations to be merged include:
- Crown Prosecution Service (merge with Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, Public Bodies Bill will legislatively complete the reform which was effected in Jan 2010)
- Serious Organised Crime Agency (merge functions into the new National Crime Agency, as previously announced)
Under consideration include:
- Remploy Ltd
A full list can be downloaded below.
