§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the non-departmental public bodies in existence on 1 May 1997 that(a) have been disbanded, (b) will be disbanded in the next 12 months,(c) have had their functions transferred to (i) another non-departmental public body and (ii) a democratically elected body, (d) have been renamed but continue to perform a similar role and (e) have been unchanged; if he will indicate in (c) (ii) the relevant successor body; what new non-departmental public bodies have been established since 1 May 1997; and how many non-departmental public bodies his Department currently is responsible for. [53865]
§ Mr. Straw[holding answer 30 July 1998]: None of the non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) for which my Department is responsible, has been disbanded since 1 May 1997, although I expect that, subject to Parliamentary approval, the Advisory Committee on Service Candidates will be abolished shortly.
No Home Office NDPB has had its functions transferred either to another NDPB or a democratically elected body, and none has continued to perform a similar function under a different name.
Details of all NDPBs in existence on 1 May 1997 sponsored by this Department are listed in "Public Bodies 1997". Since that date, we have established as NDPBs the Police Information Technology Organisation and the Race Relations Forum.
My Department is currently responsible for 35 NDPBs, plus 135 Boards of Visitors to penal establishments.