§ 2. Mrs. Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside)What plans she has to make quangos accountable to elected regional and local bodies.[116385]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Graham Stringer)The Government have already transferred 220 public bodies to the devolved Assemblies in Edinburgh and Cardiff. It is the Government's intention in due course to transfer a number of public bodies to the Greater London Assembly.
§ Mrs. EllmanDoes my hon. Friend agree that it is entirely unacceptable for the Government to announce plans to make quangos accountable to devolved government in Scotland and in Wales, and to the proposed devolved government in Greater London, when he has no answers on what is to happen to unaccountable quangos in the English regions?
§ Mr. StringerThe Government intend to bring forward legislation that will enable the electorate within the regions to determine whether they want an elected assembly. If they do, that will completely change the terms of the debate on the relationship of that elected assembly to any quangos.
§ Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North)Does my hon. Friend agree that quangos would be far more accountable, as outlined in the question, if no one is appointed to them who is not fully domiciled in the United Kingdom and who is not acting as an ambassador from a foreign country to the United Nations? In other words, we do not want on quangos any more Michael Ashcrofts.
§ Mr. StringerIt has been the Government's policy to follow the Nolan procedures for appointments to quangos and to ensure, following the paper on the opening of quangos' doors, both that people presented to quangos have been "Nolaned" and that the quangos themselves operate in an open and accountable way. I am not aware that the gentleman to whom my hon. Friend refers has been appointed to any quangos in this country.