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Kavanagh et al: British Politics 5e

Chapter 16

Quangos and agencies

Civil Service Website: Agencies and Public Bodies
www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/index.asp
This section of the Civil Service website is a comprehensive resource on Quangos and agencies. Here you can find links to agencies themselves, annual reports of agencies and the guidance issued to government departments in dealing with agencies. The site also provides a wide variety of links to other sites, including the Public Appointments Unit and the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

The National Audit Office
www.nao.org.uk/
The National Audit Office is responsible for auditing and conducting investigations into the value for money provided by government departments, agencies and non-departmental bodies. Its sixty or so reports each year are guided by the ‘three E’s’ – Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. Amongst its recent reports have been studies of Ofcom, the Child Support Agency and the Office of Fair Trading.

House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee
www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/public_administration_select_committee.cfm
In the course of its activities the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee has undertaken a number of useful investigations of Quangos and agencies. You can explore these by clicking on ‘Reports and Publications’. Particularly relevant to the issues raised in this chapter are the Committee’s fifth report in the 2000-2001 session, “Mapping the Quango State” and its fourth report from the 2002-3 session, “Government by Appointment: Opening Up the Patronage State”

Committee on Standards in Public Life
www.public-standards.gov.uk/
The Committee on Standards in Public Life was established in 1994 by John Major in response to the allegations of ‘sleaze’ which emerged at this time. The Committee has investigated Quangos on a number of occasions, not least in its first, fourth, sixth and tenth reports, all of which are available for download from the website.

The Democratic Audit: Quangos
www.democraticaudit.com/issues/quangos.php
Democratic Audit has investigated the Quango state in the UK as part of its remit to examine the extent of democracy in Britain. This section of the website collects together its research on Quangos. You will discover here further information on Quangos, Quangocrats and ‘croneyism’ in appointments to Quangos and other public bodies.