By Mike Thatcher
21 January 2010
The shadow local government minister has ‘strongly endorsed the thoughts behind’ a report calling for the abolition of major quangos and the radical devolution of responsibilities to local government.
Bob Neill said the report, by Kent County Council leader Paul Carter, ‘flags up a lot of things with which I have a great deal of sympathy’.
In the report, and in this week’s Public Finance (Burning questions), Carter calls for the abolition of more than a dozen quangos, including the Health & Safety Executive, the Homes & Communities Agency and the Environment Agency. He said it would result in annual savings of £15bn to £21bn.
Neill, who is also the Conservative Party’s deputy chair, told a seminar organised by the Localis think-tank: ‘We strongly endorse the thoughts behind the report, although naturally we have to reserve our views on the exact detail.’
He added: ‘The report emphasises something that we need to make the case about constantly – the insidious nature of the quangocracy that has grown up in the UK.’
Conservative leader David Cameron pledged last year to cut the number of quangos, but has not identified many candidates for closure.
Only the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency has been threatened, while Ofcom would lose its policy-making role.
But Carter’s vision goes much further, suggesting that quangos across health, the
arts, sport, business and education should go as well as regional development agencies and strategic health authorities.
21 January 2010
The shadow local government minister has ‘strongly endorsed the thoughts behind’ a report calling for the abolition of major quangos and the radical devolution of responsibilities to local government.
Bob Neill said the report, by Kent County Council leader Paul Carter, ‘flags up a lot of things with which I have a great deal of sympathy’.
In the report, and in this week’s Public Finance (Burning questions), Carter calls for the abolition of more than a dozen quangos, including the Health & Safety Executive, the Homes & Communities Agency and the Environment Agency. He said it would result in annual savings of £15bn to £21bn.
Neill, who is also the Conservative Party’s deputy chair, told a seminar organised by the Localis think-tank: ‘We strongly endorse the thoughts behind the report, although naturally we have to reserve our views on the exact detail.’
He added: ‘The report emphasises something that we need to make the case about constantly – the insidious nature of the quangocracy that has grown up in the UK.’
Conservative leader David Cameron pledged last year to cut the number of quangos, but has not identified many candidates for closure.
Only the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency has been threatened, while Ofcom would lose its policy-making role.
But Carter’s vision goes much further, suggesting that quangos across health, the
arts, sport, business and education should go as well as regional development agencies and strategic health authorities.
