Quango review follows LGA campaign launch

The Labour and Conservative parties have pledged to crackdown on the “quango state” days after the LGA chairman called for a “radical overhaul” of the unelected bodies to make sure taxpayers get value for money.

Conservative leader David Cameron pledged a major reform of quangos to save money and make them more accountable.

During a speech to the Reform thinktank this week, Mr Cameron said he had asked his shadow cabinet to review every  independent public body within their portfolio to make sure it is necessary, as small as possible and “operating with maximum efficiency, frugality and respect for taxpayers’ money”.

He said: “Too much of what government does is actually done by people that no one can vote out, by organisations that feel no pressure to answer for what happens and in a way that is relatively unaccountable.

“I’m convinced that the growth of the quango state is one of the main reasons so many people feel that nothing ever changes and nothing will ever get done.”

Chief secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne has also ordered a review quangos to “make sure every penny of public money goes to frontline services”.

He has reportedly written to Whitehall departments calling on them to assess which quangos can be abolished, merged with other bodies or taken back into ministries.

It comes after Cllr Margaret Eaton launched a campaign to identify where taxpayers’ money is being wasted, but also which quangos are doing well.

Cllr Eaton said: “It is time for a radical overhaul of the quango state that gives taxpayers more direct influence through the ballot box over how their money is spent by government at all levels.

“People have the right to see where their money is being spent and they are losing confidence in the way the political world can be removed from them and their everyday lives.

“This isn’t about bashing quangos – we want to highlight some of the things that they are doing well and see where this can be taken up across the board.”

There are an estimated 791 quangos in England and Wales which spend £43.2bn every year, yet there is a significant lack of public scrutiny of where and how this money is spent. Almost twice as many quango staff earn a  six figure salary, when compared to the total in local government.