Today I invite my critics who wish to see a slimmed quango state to write in with thought out proposals for abolition or slimming of some government bodies. I will read and post a few longer pieces if they are considered and understand the forces tha… read more
Some of you have written in reply to my piece on how Ministers can and should monitor and direct government bodies that we have too many of them. You would prefer abolition to better performance review and budget controls. This is to miss the point … read more
There are three main roles for Ministers to perform when supervising and sponsoring quangos or so called independent government bodies. The first is to supervise the expenditures of public money. These bodies often rely on substantial grant income whi… read more
There is no such thing as truly independent government body. In a democracy Parliament and Ministers can always change the guidance, funding or law applying to any independent body. Governments are held to blame by Oppositions and the public when a… read more
Leading governments are as expected coming up with tougher targets to reduce carbon dioxide output, and are accepting the discipline of setting shorter term intermediate targets on the way to net zero by 2050. This week the German Green party moved in… read more