The Government’s Public Bodies Review in 2010 covered over 900 public bodies and was initiated to increase transparency and accountability, to cut out duplication of activity, and to discontinue activities which are simply no longer needed. The public bodies under review included Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPB), Public Corporations and Non-Ministerial Departments. The 2010 Review tested whether the bodies’ functions were needed and, if they were, whether each body should continue to operate at arm’s length from Government. This decision was based upon whether they met one or more of three tests:
• Does it perform a technical function?
• Do its activities require political impartiality?
• Does it need to act independently to establish facts?
As a result of the review, over 200 bodies are proposed for abolition, over 170 bodies will be merged into fewer than 80 bodies and a further 120 bodies will be retained but substantially reformed. The public bodies landscape will ultimately be reduced by over 300 bodies by the end of the Spending Review period in 2014-15. This list outlines the 106 public bodies that have already been abolished as of 22 August 2012