quango

The acronyms Qango and Quango, variously spelt out as QUAsi Non-Governmental Organisation, QUasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation, and QUasi-Autonomous National Government Organisation, have been used, notably in the United Kingdom, but also in Australia, Ireland and other countries, to describe a range of organisations to which governments have devolved power. Confusion over the meaning of the acronym has been reflected in confusion over the use of the term, and may have contributed to its decline in use.

History of the term

The term originated as a humorous shortening of Quasi-NGO, that is, an ostensibly non-governmental organisation which performs governmental functions, often with government funding or other support.^[1] There are many such organisations. In Australia and other countries, the Red Cross provides blood bank services, with government support and backing of various kinds. Examples in the United Kingdom include bodies engaged in self-regulation of various sectors, such as the Press Council and the Law Society. An essential feature of a Quango, in the original definition, was that it should not be formally part of the public sector.

However, the appeal of the term was such that it was extended to a wide range of governmental organisations, such as executive agencies (from 1988) providing health, education and other services. Particularly in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, this extension took place in a polemical context, being associated with claims that the proliferation of such authorities was undesirable and should be reversed. In the course of this process, attempts were made to derive the acryonym from longer terms which did not carry the presumption that the organisation in question was non-governmental. The most popular was Quasi-Autonomous National Government Organisation, which, however, carries with it the false presumption that state and local governments cannot make use of Quangos. Similarly, the insertion of the word "autonomous" does not work in a descriptive sense: the main complaint about these organisations is that they have too much autonomy, rather than, as with the original term, that their apparent autonomy conceals a close relationship with government.

Since most of such bodies are in fact part of the government in terms of funding, appointment and function, the acronym does not work as a description - these are generally not non-governmental organisations with less autonomy than others. As a result, it has largely been abandoned in UK official usage. The less controversial term non-departmental public body (NDPB) is now used to describe many of the organisations with devolved governmental roles, in an attempt to avoid the pejorative associations of the term Quango.

The UK government's definition of a non-departmental public body or quango in 1997 was:

"A body which has a role in the processes of national government, but is not a government department or part of one, and which accordingly operates to a greater or lesser extent at arm's length from Ministers." [1]

United Kingdom

The use of executive agencies with service delivery functions has developed alongside NDPBs in the UK. These agencies do not usually have a legal identity separate from that of their parent department; and, unless they have trading fund status, their accounts form part of the accounts of the parent department. The NHS also has bodies called Special Health Authorities which are technically neither NDPBs nor executive agencies, and the Department of Health collectively describes all three types as "arm's length bodies".

List of Quangos by Government Department

Cabinet Office

• Central Sponsor for Information Assurance
• Centre for Management and Policy Studies
• Office of Public Services Reform
• Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit
• Strategy Unit

Ministry of Justice

• The Legal Services Commission
• Council on Tribunals
• HM Magistrates Court Inspectorate

Department for Children, Schools and Families/Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills

• Learning and Skills Council (Britain's largest Quango)
• The regional sports bodies of Sport England (East, East Midlands, London, North East, North West, South East, South West, West, Yorkshire)
• Implementation Review Unit
• Office for Fair Access
• Union Learning Fund
• Adult Learning Inspectorate
• National College for School Leadership
• Quality Improvement Agency (formerly the Learning and Skills Development Agency)

Department for Transport

• Commission for Integrated Transport
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
• Driving Standards Agency
• Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
• Vehicle Certification Authority

Department of Work and Pensions

• Jobcentre Plus
• Disability Rights Commission

Treasury

• Business Advisory Group on Economic and Monetary Union
• Standing Committee on Euro Preparations

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

• Wilton Park

Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

• Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales
• Agricultural Wages Committees for England
• British Waterways
• Hill Farming Advisory Committee for England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Covent Garden Market Authority
• Rural Payments Agency
• Advisory Committee on Pesticides
• Committee on Agricultural Valuation
• Forest Enterprise England
• Joint Nature Conservation Committee
• National Forest Company
• Pesticide Residue Committee
• Pesticide Safety Directorate
• Veterinary Medicines Directorate
• Veterinary Products Committee
• Veterinary Residues Committee
• Waste & Resources Action Programme

Department of Health

• Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs
• Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes
• Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food
• Beef Assurance Scheme Membership Panel
• Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment
• Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health
• Commission for Social Care Inspection
• Consumer Committee
• Dental Vocational Training Authority
• Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals
• Family Health Services Special Health Authority
• General Social Care Council
• Health Development Agency
• Healthcare Commission
• Human Fertility and Embryology Authority
• Human Tissue Authority
• Meat Hygiene Service
• Mental Health Act Commission
• National Biological Standards Board
• National Blood Authority
• National Clinical Assessment Authority
• National Patient Safety Agency
• National Radiological Protection Board
• NHS Connecting for Health
• NHS Business Services Authority
• NHS Estates
• NHS Modernisation Agency
• NHS Pensions Agency
• NHS Professionals
• NHS University
• Strategic Health Authorities
• UK Transplant

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

• Industrial Development Advisory Board
• National Policy Forum for Start-ups
• Regional Industrial Development Boards (East of England, London and South East, North East, North West, South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands)
• Broadband Stakeholder Group
• Small Business Service
• British Broadcasting Corporation (joint with DCMS)

Home Office

• Identity and Passport Service
• National Policing Improvement Agency
• Border and Immigration Agency
• Criminal Records Bureau

Ministry of Defence

• Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency
• Army Base Repair Organisation Engineering service
• Defence Aviation Repair Agency
• Defence Bills Agency
• Defence Storage and Distribution Agency
• Hydrographic Office
• Meteorological Office
• Pay and Personnel Agency
• Warship Support Agency

Communities and Local Government

• Government Office for London
• Standards Board for England
• Regional Assemblies (East of England, East Midlands, North East, North West, South East, South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber)
• Regional Housing Boards (East of England, East Midlands, North East, North West, South East, South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber)
• Regional Observatories (East of England Observatory, East Midlands Observatory, North East Regional Information Partnership, North West Regional Intelligence Unit, South East England Intelligence Network, South West, West Midlands, Yorkshire Futures)

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

• BBC (jointly with BERR)
• Channel Four Television Corporation
• Welsh Fourth Channel Authority

Scottish Executive

• Bòrd na Gàidhlig

Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland has more than 800 quangos — 482 at national level and 350 at local level. ^[2] they have a combined annual budget of €13 billion and 5,784 quango members.

See also

• Executive Agency
• Departments of the United Kingdom Government
• Scottish public bodies
• UK topics
• Off-budget enterprise
• Non-governmental organization

References

Wettenhall, R 1981 'The quango phenomenon', Current Affairs Bulletin 57(10):14-22.

• Definition of 'non-departmental public body' as synonymous with 'QUANGO'
• UK government site about the process of making public appointments

Notes

1. ^ Wettenhall, R 1981 'The quango phenomenon', Current Affairs Bulletin 57(10):14-22.]
2. ^ According to a survey carried out by the think-tank Tasc in 2006. Focus: What's wrong with quangos? — The Sunday Times newspaper article, 29 October 2006

External links

• Cabinet Office - Agencies and Public Bodies
• Economic Research Council - online database of all UK quangos 1998-2006
• The Sunday Times Article on Quangos - Sept 2006

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