Quango
Quango (organization type) | |
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It describes an ostensibly non-governmental organisation performing governmental functions, |
The term quango or QUANGO is a (normally pejorative) description of an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "Quasi-NGO", where NGO is the standard acronym for a non-government organization, and in this sense was used neutrally.
As its name suggests, a quango is a hybrid form of organization, with elements of both non-government organizations (NGOs) and public sector bodies. The term is most often applied in the United Kingdom and, to a lesser degree, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and other English-speaking countries.
In the UK, the term quango covers different "arm's-length" government bodies, including "non-departmental public bodies" (NDPBs), non-ministerial government departments, and executive agencies.[1]
Examples include the Bank of England, the BBC World service, and the Arts Council.
United Kingdom
Despite a 'commitment' from the 1979 Conservative party to curb the growth of non-departmental bodies, their numbers grew rapidly through their time in power throughout the 1980s.
The Cabinet Office 2009 report on non-departmental public bodies found that there are 766 NDPBs sponsored by the UK government. The number has been falling: There was 827 in 2007 and 790 in 2008. The number of NDPBs has fallen by over 10% since 1997. Staffing and expenditure of NDPBs have increased. They employed 111,000 people in 2009 and spent £46.5 billion, of which £38.4 billion was directly funded by the Government.[2]
An example
Page name | Description |
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Bill Morris |
References
- ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations |title=Departments, agencies & public bodies - Inside Government
- ↑ http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/key-issues-for-the-new-parliament/decentralisation-of-power/quangos/