Health quangos get the axe

Released 27/07/2010

Half of DH arm’s length bodies to be abolished

Health quangos suffered yesterday as health secretary Andrew Lansley announced that half of these "arms-length bodies" (ALBs) run by the Department of Health were to be abolished.

In total, the changes outlined in yesterday's DH report will reduce the number of health ALBs from 18 to between eight and 10. The cuts are expected to deliver savings of over £180m by 2015.

Subject to Parliamentary approval, organisations which are no longer needed will be removed from the sector, with essential work moved to other bodies, said a DH statement. The report explained how the process would increase the ability of the organisations to do their "important work in the most efficient way".

Lansley said: "In order to secure every possible means to promote greater value for money and efficiency, we have acted decisively to ensure that our ALB sector remains fit for purpose and affordable.

"Over the years the sector has grown to the point where overlap between organisations and duplication of effort have produced a needless bureaucratic web. By making sure that the right functions are being carried out at the appropriate level, we will free up significant savings to support front-line NHS services."

The abolished quangos are as follows:

• Health Protection Agency (HPA)
• National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA)
• National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse
• Alcohol Education and Research Council
• Appointments Commission
• Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (by end of this Parliament)
• Human Tissue Authority
• Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (to be made a self-funding body by charging a levy on regulators)
• NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement

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