Public and Advisory Bodies

HC Deb 17 March 2003 vol 401 cc499-500W

Tony Wright

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the criteria are for classifying public and advisory bodies as(a) executive non-departmental public bodies, (b) advisory non-departmental public bodies, (c) task forces, (d) ad hoc advisory groups and (e) reviews; and what particular qualities or characteristics distinguish these bodies from each other. [102521]

Mr. Alexander

Generally, executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) operate under statutory provisions and are legally incorporated; their functions cover a national remit (including the devolved assemblies); appointments to the Board of the NDPB are made by Ministers, or by the Queen on ministerial advice; such appointments must be made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Administration (OCPA); the chief executive is accountable to the Board; the NDPB has its own budget; staff are employed directly by the body itself (and are not civil servants); and Ministers are answerable to Parliament for the NDPB and have the powers to wind it up subject to, where appropriate, the approval of Parliament or, where a Royal Charter has previously been granted, of the Queen.

Advisory NDPBs are usually set up administratively by Ministers, or by the Queen on ministerial advice, without the need for legislation; those appointed to the Board are independent of Government and drawn from outside the public sector; the NDPB should be a standing body existing for more than one year and meeting at least annually; the Board has a defined membership and clear terms of reference; as with executive NDPBs, appointments are subject to the OCPA Code of Practice and the remit tends to have a national focus; the Board is usually supported by staff from within the sponsoring department but is not part of a department or agency; generally the NDPB does not prepare its own accounts and instead is accounted for through the books of the sponsoring department; and Ministers are answerable to Parliament for the body and may wind it up.

There is little to distinguish between task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews. These bodies can be defined in various ways. However, the Government's response to the Sixth 'Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life' gave 3 criteria as a definition: Membership drawn from the wider public sector and/or voluntary organisations and/or the private sector A lifetime normally of less than 2 years; A remit focused on a single issue.

Some of these bodies may go on to become classified as NDPBs where the need for the body's advice continues beyond its original life span e.g. the Better Regulation Task Force, Skills Task Force and the New Deal Task Force.

Finally, as their name indicates executive NDPBs will be largely concerned with an operational or executive function while an advisory NDPB would be more likely to provide specific advice in a specialised field. Both executive and advisory NDPBs tend to be more formal and likely to run for longer than task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews. The choice of the most appropriate body to be set up in a given situation will depend upon all of the criteria described here, and ministerial judgment about what would be most suitable for the intended purpose.