§ Mr. Adleyasked the Prime Minister how many non-departmental public bodies have been abolished by Her Majesty's Government since May 1979; how many people in total have been relieved of their positions on these bodies ; and what percentage this represents of the total.
§ The Prime MinisterSo far 176 bodies—8 per cent.—have been abolished out of a starting total of 2,117, including 67 tribunal "systems". As a result there has been a reduction of 1,609—5 per cent.—in appointments made to public bodies and a saving of 616—0.3 per cent.—jobs. In addition, 79 posts in Departments have been saved.
As announced in the report on Non-Departmental Public Bodies—Cmnd. 7797—decisions have been taken to abolish another 70 bodies which have outlived their usefulness. The abolition of the total of 246—12 per cent.—will lead to savings of £11.6 million a year. Further cuts of £350 million have been made by reducing the planned expenditure programmes of the larger public bodies in 1980–81.
Decisions on the future of over 300 more bodies will be announced as soon as possible.
All public bodies will be kept under review in terms both of abolishing those which have fulfilled their purpose and also of controlling the expenditure of those which continue to serve a useful role.