Issued by: Cabinet Office

Every quango across government will be reviewed, with a view to close, merge or bring functions back into departments if its continued existence cannot be justified

• The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has written to departments to justify every quango otherwise they’ll be closed, merged, or have powers brought back into the department.

• Changes will drive efficiency and reduce bureaucracy as part of Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, delivering security and renewal for working people.

• New era of global instability means Government must go further and faster in reform.

• Government will consider what legislation may be required to deliver these reforms.

Every quango across government will be reviewed, with a view to close, merge or bring functions back into departments if its continued existence cannot be justified.

The review, commissioned by the Cabinet Office at the request of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is the latest move to re-wire Whitehall and produce a more productive and agile state. It is part of our Plan for Change, delivering security for working people and national renewal.

This follows news last month that NHS England will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to put an end to the duplication resulting from two organisations doing the same job in a system currently holding staff back from delivering for patients.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden MP said:

"We are taking action to ensure decisions of national importance that affect everyone in this country are made by those who have been elected to do so.

"Only by fundamentally re-wiring the state, can we deliver our Plan for Change to secure Britain’s future and serve working people; kick-starting economic growth, rebuilding the NHS and strengthening our borders.

"The review will aim to drive out waste and inefficiency across Whitehall, reducing duplication and bureaucracy - saving the taxpayer money and cutting the cost of ‘doing government’."

It is expected that quangos with large policy functions could be brought back into departments, bringing ministerial, elected, scrutiny back to major decisions that affect the public. This would also retain the expertise and experience of staff working in these areas.

All departments must demonstrate the necessity of each one, operating under the presumption that these bodies will be affected unless there is compelling justification for their separate existence.

Where independence from Ministerial decision making is essential, such as quangos which scrutinise government or protect the rule of law, then these will remain unaffected.

The Cabinet Secretary and departmental Secretaries of State and Permanent Secretaries will be held directly accountable for the Arms Length Body (ALBs) that continue to exist following the review.

The review will consider four key principles:

• Ministerial policy oversight - if a policy is of national importance then Ministers should have appropriate oversight and control of its development. Major decisions that affect the country and the public should be taken by those elected by the country to do so.

• Duplication and Efficiency - government should drive out duplication and inefficiency wherever possible, this includes if there is duplication of policy or delivery work between ALBs and Ministerial departments.

• Stakeholder Management - the fact that government needs to engage stakeholders should not be a reason for an ALB to exist, government itself should be working hard to engage with a variety of partners at every stage.

• Independent Advice - where there is a clear justification for independent advice, then this should be conducted at arms length.

Many ALBs are set up in legislation, and previous work to deliver these changes has been hampered by the difficulty in updating and changing individual pieces of ALB legislation. As part of this work, the Government will consider what legislation may be required to ensure the reviews announced today can be implemented and delivered upon.

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