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Councils handed extra responsibilities in quango shake-up

Local authorities will be handed new responsibilities in the aftermath of the government’s decision to axe 192 quangos and either merge or substantially reform several other public bodies.

The merger of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) with the Competition Commission will for example see “most consumer enforcement” pass to councils’ trading standards departments.

Explaining the move, Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Consumers are represented by a bewildering array of public, private and voluntary bodies, which often duplicate efforts to inform, educate and advise consumers of their rights. Our aim is to create a simpler structure with a single competition authority and a stronger role for front-line consumer services.”

Other major announcements include confirmation of the axeing of the Tenant Services Agency, whose regulatory functions will be passed to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). The government insisted that independent economic regulation will be safeguarded, while consumer regulation will be “slimmed down”.

The HCA in turn will see substantial reform, becoming a smaller enabling and investment body working for local communities. It will take on the regulation of social housing. The government intends to transfer the HCA’s London functions to the Mayor of London.

The functions of the Olympic Park Legacy Company will also be devolved to the Mayor and the body itself will be reconstituted as a Mayoral Development Corporation.

A number of other bodies to have been retained will nevertheless face reform. They include the Environment Agency, which, according to the government, will see “structural, process and cultural change to become a more efficient and customer focused organisation; and clarify accountabilities”. There will be further announcements on these reforms after the Treasury’s Spending Review. The Environment Agency in Wales could move to form part of the Welsh Assembly Government.

The nine national parks authorities have avoided abolition, but there will be a review of their governance and a drive to increase their accountability.

In the children’s services arena, Ofsted will see reform to its inspection functions “to increase proportionality and reduce burdens”. Partnership for Schools’s fate remains under consideration, subject to the overarching review of the Department for Education’s capital expenditure. That should be completed by December 2010.

Cafcass remains under consideration as well, pending the outcome of the Family Justice Review, which is set to report in 2011. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner will meanwhile be subject to a formal review to be finalised by the end of November 2010.

The fate of a number of the bodies on the list had already been announced, with the government having previously said it would abolish regional development agencies, the General Teaching Council for England, the Commission for Rural Communities and the Infrastructure Planning Commission (to become a unit in the Planning Inspectorate).

Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said the process represented the restoration of political accountability for decisions which affect people’s lives and the way taxpayers’ money is spent.

He said: “We know that for a long time there has been a huge hunger for change. People have been fed up with the old way of doing business, where the ministers they voted for could often avoid taking responsibility for difficult and tough decisions by creating or hiding behind one of these quangos.

“Today’s announcement means that many important and essential functions will be brought back into departments meaning the line of accountability will run right up to the very top where it always should have been.”

Maude added that those organisations that remain will not be allowed to go back to what he called “the old way of working”.  He said: “As part of the reforms, we will also be introducing new transparency requirements, a new governance framework and a new review process to ensure that there is a robust and regular challenge of the continuing need for all the public bodies that remain.”

The government will introduce most of the reforms through a Public Bodies Bill. Other legislation, such as the forthcoming Education Bill and Localism Bill, will also enable some of the changes.

Baroness Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said councils had been campaigning for years to cut the number of unaccountable quangos and give local people power over the services that matter to them.

She said: “As we face the toughest spending review in memory it simply isn’t acceptable to have decisions over help for millions of people made by unelected officials remote from the front line and it is good that ministers have recognised this.”

Baroness Eaton hailed the decision to put trading standards departments at the centre of enforcing most of UK consumer law as sensible. “Having government recognise officers’ expertise in enforcing important regulatory functions is a clear statement of faith in councils’ ability to deliver,” she said.

The LGA chairman nevertheless warned that there were still questions to be answered in relation to the future of education funding quangos and other bodies such as the Homes and Communities Agency.

She said: “The acid test will be whether ministers allow decisions to be taken at the front line by locally-elected people who know their neighbourhoods best, or simply replace unaccountable quangos with unelected civil servants in Whitehall.”

The following list sets out how those public bodies most relevant to local government and its lawyers have been affected. To see the full list, click here.

Public bodies to be or likely to be abolished

  • Administrative Justice and Tribunal Council
  • Advisory Council on Libraries
  • Advisory Panel for the Local Innovation Awards Scheme
  • Advisory Panel on Standards for the Planning Inspectorate: “The Planning Inspectorate has an internal challenge process that offers quality assurance”
  • Audit Commission: “Disband and transfer audit practice into private ownership, as previously announced”
  • British Waterways: “Abolish as a public corporation in England and Wales and create a new waterways charity – similar to a National Trust for the waterways”
  • Commission for Integrated Transport: “Abolish body and seek arrangement that delivers external analysis and strategic advice on cross-modal transport policy and realising benefits, at lower cost”
  • Commission for Rural Communities: “Abolish and reinforce government’s capacity to reflect rural interests in policies and programmes, as previously announced”
  • Commission for the Compact: “The functions of the Commission for the Compact (to champion and promote the Compact) will be carried out by Compact Voice and the Cabinet Office respectively”
  • Commons Commissioners
  • Consumer Focus: “Government will consider the outcome of ongoing sectoral reviews and consult early next year on proposals to abolish Consumer Focus and transfer its function to Citizens Advice”
  • Firebuy: “Abolish body and transfer procurement functions to alternative suppliers, and residual functions to DCLG”
  • General Teaching Council for England: “Abolish body as part of the Government’s wider plans to streamline and improve arrangements for tackling underperforming teachers, as previously announced”
  • Infrastructure Planning Commission: “Abolish body and create a Major Infrastructure Planning Unit within the Planning Inspectorate, as previously announced”
  • London Thames Gateway Development Corporation
  • Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
  • National Housing and Planning Advice Unit
  • National Tenant Voice
  • Olympic Park Legacy Company: “Devolve functions to Mayor of London. Reconstituted as a Mayoral Development Corporation”
  • Regional Development Agencies: “RDAs will be abolished and functions which are to be retained will be transferred to central or local government and others, as previously announced”
  • Rent Assessment Panels/Residential Property Tribunal Service/Valuation Tribunal for England/Valuation Tribunal Service: All abolished with jurisdiction transferred into Ministry of Justice’s tribunal service
  • Tenant Services Authority: “Abolish body. Regulatory functions passed to Homes and Communities Agency. Independent economic regulation safeguarded. Consumer regulation slimmed down”
  • Thurrock Development Corporation and West Northamptonshire Development Corporation: both abolished, with functions devolved to local government
  • Youth Justice Board: “Abolish as part of wider criminal justice reforms”

Public bodies “under consideration”

  • Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information
  • Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass): “Being considered by the Family Justice Review Panel as part of a full review of the family justice system, reporting in 2011”
  • Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment: “Still considering the options for reform”
  • Local Better Regulation Office: “Primary Authority and other deregulatory functions will be maintained and an appropriate delivery mechanism to provide independent technical expertise will be announced by December”
  • Office Partnership for Schools: “Subject to the overarching review of the Department for Education’s capital expenditure.” That should be completed by December 2010

Public bodies to be merged

  • Gambling Commission (with the National Lottery Commission)
  • Office of Fair Trading: “Government will consult in the New Year on a merger of OFT’s competition function with the Competition Commission and transfer of consumer and enforcement functions”

Public bodies to be retained

  • ACAS
  • Advisory Committee on Civil Costs
  • Broads Authority
  • Care Quality Commission
  • Charity Commission for England and Wales
  • Civil Justice Council
  • English Heritage
  • Environment Agency: “Reform through structural, process and cultural change to become a more efficient and customer focused organisation; and clarify accountabilities. Further announcements after the spending review. The Environment Agency in Wales may move to form part of a WAG”
  • Equality and Human Rights Commission: “Retain, with better focus on its core regulatory functions and improved use of taxpayers’ money”
  • Family Justice Council
  • Higher Education Funding Council for England
  • HM Land Registry: “Retain on the grounds of transparency – but Government will undertake a feasibility study to scope out the opportunities presented by private sector investment”
  • Homes and Communities Agency: “Retain and substantially reform – smaller enabling and investment body working for local communities. Intend to devolve London functions to Mayor of London. Taking on regulation of social housing”
  • Independent Housing Ombudsman
  • Information Commissioner’s Office
  • Investigatory Powers Tribunal
  • Law Commission of England and Wales
  • Legal Services Board
  • Local Government Ombudsman
  • Marine Management Organisation
  • National Parks Authorities: “Retain on grounds of performing a technical function which should remain independent of government; but review governance and increase accountability”
  • Natural England: “Reform through structural, process and cultural change to become a more efficient and customer focused organisation; and clarify accountabilities”
  • Office of Surveillance Commissioners
  • Official Solicitor
  • Ofsted: “Reform inspection functions to increase proportionality and reduce burdens”
  • Olympic Delivery Authority