Quangos

What does quango stand for?

Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation.

 

What are Quangos?

Organisations that are funded by taxpayers, but not controlled directly by central government.

What do quangos do?

They can deliver public services, give advice or regulate behaviour. Quangos can range from tiny committees that meet a few times a year to organisations with multi-million pound budgets and thousands of staff. There are several different types:

Those with executive powers to actually do something. Examples include the Environment Agency, Regional Development Agencies, national galleries and museums, regulators such as Ofcom

Advisory bodies which give independent, expert advice to ministers on a range of matters – such as the Committee on Standards on Public Life, Boundary Commission

Watchdogs that set standards and regulate behaviour, such as bodies which look at prisons, immigration removal centres etc.

How many quangos are there?

Those “non-departmental public bodies” on the Cabinet Office list total 742 across the UK. However, Wales and Scotland have devolved responsibility for some of their own which are not on the list. A pressure group, the Taxpayers’ Alliance, claims the figure is actually 1,162.