2010 UK quango reforms

Following the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the UK Government under the Cameron–Clegg coalition announced plans to curb public spending through the abolition of a large number of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quangos). This was styled in the national press as a "bonfire of the quangos",[1] making reference to Girolamo Savonarola's religiously inspired Bonfire of the Vanities ("falò delle vanità").[2][unreliable source?]

On 23 May 2010, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne unveiled a £500 million plan to reduce the budget deficit by abolishing or merging many quangos. The cuts and closures received criticism in some quarters,[3] but was generally welcomed by the business community.[4] A decade later in 2021, the UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee claimed in a report that the reforms “failed to spark” and that the Cabinet Office has “not been enforcing the code for public appointments”.[5]

Categorisation of reform

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On 14 October 2010, the government released a document Public Bodies Reform – Proposals for Change outlining plans for each quango. The document broadly classified each quango into one of four groups:[6]

Retain
the government thought it expedient to retain the organisation
Merge
the organisation would be merged with another organ of state or its function could be replicated by a third sector organisation
Abolish
the organisation would be abolished
Under consideration
firm plans were not drawn up for organisations in this category, but deadlines were set for complete consideration.

The document also contained a description of which ministry of state or government department the organisation was part of.

Quangos to be abolished

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The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Cabinet Office

The Department for Communities and Local Government

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Department of Energy and Climate Change

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Department for Education

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Ministry of Justice

The Department for Transport

Quangos to be abolished with reservations

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Some or all functions of these quangos was to be transferred to civil service, local government, other quangos, expert committees, charity or the private sector.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Cabinet Office

The Department for Communities and Local Government

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Education

The Department of Health

The Ministry of Justice

The Department for Transport

The Department for Work and Pensions

Quangos to be merged

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The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Ministry of Justice

The Department for Work and Pensions

Quangos to be reviewed

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The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The Cabinet Office

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Department of Education

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Ministry of Justice

The Home Office

References

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  1. ^ Parkinson, Justin (14 October 2010). "Politicians' love/hate relationship with quangos". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  2. ^ Amatosi, Alexander (8 September 2010). "Bonfire of the quangos". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  3. ^ Porter, Andrew (23 September 2010). "Quango cuts: backlash begins". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Businesses rejoice as Whitehall starts the cull of quangos". London Evening Standard. 14 October 1010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  5. ^ "Report: George Osborne's 'bonfire of the quangos' has 'failed to spark'". CityAM. 23 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Public Bodies Reform – Proposals for Change" (PDF). UK Government. 15 October 1010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  7. ^ National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts.
  8. ^ Also known as WAB.
  9. ^ Also known as Tenant Services Authority.