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More than 30 health quangos may be axed by UK coalition government

BMJ 2010; 341 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.c5297 (Published 24 September 2010) Cite this as: BMJ 2010;341:c5297
  1. Nigel Hawkes
  1. 1London

    A leaked Cabinet Office document indicates that around 30 health related advisory committees and non-departmental bodies are to be abolished in the UK coalition government’s “bonfire of the quangos.”

    Among high profile casualties are the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the Human Tissue Authority, the Human Genetics Commission, the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, if the list published today by the Daily Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk, 24 Sep, “Quango cuts: 177 bodies to be scrapped under coalition plans”) proves accurate.

    The demise of the Health Protection Agency, whose functions will be taken over by the promised Department of Public Health, and the Appointments Commission, which handles public appointments to the NHS and other government departments, had already been announced by ministers (BMJ 2010;341:c4074, doi:10.1136/bmj.c4074). Both appear on the list.

    Non-departmental bodies have flourished in the United Kingdom in recent years. Last year the Taxpayers’ Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, produced a list of 1162 such bodies, …

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