QUANGO

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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.

Contents
History of the term
United Kingdom
List of Quangos by Government Department
Cabinet Office
Department for Constitutional Affairs
Department for Education and Skills
Department for Transport
Department of Work and Pensions
Treasury
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department of Health
Department for Trade and Industry
Home Office
Ministry of Defence
Communities and Local Government
Broadcasting
Scottish Executive
Republic of Ireland
See also
References
Notes
External links

History of the term


The term originated as a humorous shortening of -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
Department for Constitutional Affairs


The Legal Services Commission

Council on Tribunals

HM Magistrates Court Inspectorate
Department for Education 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
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 Trade and Industry


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
Home Office


Identity and Passport Service

National Policing Improvement Agency
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)
Broadcasting


British Broadcasting Corporation

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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