As for quangos generally, the best and simplest way to do what they do more openly and cheaply would be to merge their functions into elected regional government. Most of the quangos that exist - NHS boards, tourism boards, waste management and planning authorities exist because most of England doesn't have any appropriate government to run those things accountably.
Sadly the same people who decry the quango would be equally outraged at the idea of devolved democracy.
I'd be quite happy to see responsibility for schools, hospitals, police, fire, etc, devolved to district councils.
I'm hoping to see some element of this with the localism agenda of both the Tories and Lib Dems.
I'd be quite happy to see responsibility for schools, hospitals, police, fire, etc, devolved to district councils.
I'm hoping to see some element of this with the localism agenda of both the Tories and Lib Dems.
For the NHS they've said that they will introduce:
- some locally elected members on PCT Boards
- most of rest of the PCT Board appointed by the Local Authority
So it doesn't look like responsibility will be devolved to councils, but they will have much more of a say in the day to day running of the local NHS.
For hospital Trusts I've not seen anything to suggest they will do away with the current Foundation Trust model which involves a Board of Governers which has representation from local people.
The NHS is actually the main area where quangos are mentioned in the Programme for Government document, as it says that they will "significantly" reduce the number of health quangos. Will be interested to see what this means in practice, as it's not really clear what they mean by a quango in the NHS anyway.
"Scrapping quangos" is unfortunately just another media friendly soundbite. I learnt today that the quango for Housing & Care which focuused on extra care housing has been scrapped. This means that years of work on reviewing and recommissioning support for the elderly and vulnerable has essentially come to a standstill. Wasting millions, providing real choice and dignity for the elderly and enabling people to be supported within their own flats.
But never mind, at least another quango has gone
It seems to me that the reason for most Quangos is to ensure that local councils don't have any influence on the things they pontificate upon as they are generally set up by national governments with their membership determined by national government
"Scrapping quangos" is unfortunately just another media friendly soundbite. I learnt today that the quango for Housing & Care which focuused on extra care housing has been scrapped. This means that years of work on reviewing and recommissioning support for the elderly and vulnerable has essentially come to a standstill. Wasting millions, providing real choice and dignity for the elderly and enabling people to be supported within their own flats.
But never mind, at least another quango has gone
If these people had worked harder and not scrounged, they would be living on country estates with people to look after them, so it's their own fault and they should suffer the consequences of their laziness!!!
I'd be quite happy to see responsibility for schools, hospitals, police, fire, etc, devolved to district councils.
I'm hoping to see some element of this with the localism agenda of both the Tories and Lib Dems.
Well you'll be waiting a long time because the Tories are just about to set about centralising education by making Academies accountable to the secretary of state instead of anybody locally
That's the thing about targeting things based on their names. Just because to the ignorant they sound worthless doesn't mean that they are. Most people don't have a clue what these quangos do or why so they're happy to see them scrapped. We've already lost a very good scheme yesterday to help children who have reading difficulties before it damages their education simply because the Tories felt safe in scrapping it as most people don't know anything about it.
It's the people who phone radio phone-ins going on about how they should sack all the Equality Officers that make me laugh. If they're questioned it turns out that they don't know what they do and invariably they're white, male and able-bodied. Just because something isn't aimed at you doesn't make it worthless.
According to a special needs teacher friend, the scheme. that was scrapped yesterday. didnt help children wih reading difficulties at all but made teachers of special needs lives much more difficult!
Well you'll be waiting a long time because the Tories are just about to set about centralising education by making Academies accountable to the secretary of state instead of anybody locally
Except the parents, to whom they'll be more accountable, which is vastly preferable to the current set up and about as local as you can get.
It is inaccurate to describe this list as a list of Quangos. Many of them are executive agencies, i.e. effectively specialist government departments treated as separate from their parent department.
Comments
I'd be quite happy to see responsibility for schools, hospitals, police, fire, etc, devolved to district councils.
I'm hoping to see some element of this with the localism agenda of both the Tories and Lib Dems.
For the NHS they've said that they will introduce:
- some locally elected members on PCT Boards
- most of rest of the PCT Board appointed by the Local Authority
So it doesn't look like responsibility will be devolved to councils, but they will have much more of a say in the day to day running of the local NHS.
For hospital Trusts I've not seen anything to suggest they will do away with the current Foundation Trust model which involves a Board of Governers which has representation from local people.
The NHS is actually the main area where quangos are mentioned in the Programme for Government document, as it says that they will "significantly" reduce the number of health quangos. Will be interested to see what this means in practice, as it's not really clear what they mean by a quango in the NHS anyway.
But never mind, at least another quango has gone
If these people had worked harder and not scrounged, they would be living on country estates with people to look after them, so it's their own fault and they should suffer the consequences of their laziness!!!
I think that's the policy from now on
As in the case of Birds Eye Potato Waffles.
They're waffly versatile.
Wasn't that in Labour's manifesto?
Every ladder would require a computer chip activated upon extension.;)
Well you'll be waiting a long time because the Tories are just about to set about centralising education by making Academies accountable to the secretary of state instead of anybody locally
According to a special needs teacher friend, the scheme. that was scrapped yesterday. didnt help children wih reading difficulties at all but made teachers of special needs lives much more difficult!
Except the parents, to whom they'll be more accountable, which is vastly preferable to the current set up and about as local as you can get.
It is inaccurate to describe this list as a list of Quangos. Many of them are executive agencies, i.e. effectively specialist government departments treated as separate from their parent department.