Quango Bonfire Catches Fire Under SNP

STEVENSON DELIGHTED THAT TARGETS SET TO BE SMASHED BY END 2011

The SNP is set to break through targets to cull the number of government agencies by 25% by the end of 2011 with new figures showing 84 public bodies will have been abolished, merged or seen their functions taken over by other organisations.

In May 2007 there were 199 “Quangos” or non-departmental public bodies in Scotland’s public sector. This will be reduced to 115 by the end of 2011 – a reduction of 42%.

Commenting, SNP MSP and candidate for the new Banffshire & Buchan Coast constituency Stewart Stevenson said:

“The SNP made a commitment to streamline government and to make government more efficient and we have achieved that target.

“We will have dramatically cut the number of public bodies by the end of 2011 whilst ensuring government continues to do its job. Previous governments promised a bonfire of the quangos that they failed to light. Under the SNP that bonfire has finally caught fire.

“There are some outside agencies that do an excellent job and it is important they are not part of government, but in many cases the system we inherited from Labour and the Lib Dems had ‘too many cooks’ and too much waste.

“Slimming down the public sector landscape will cut bureaucracy, ease regulation and cut costs for Scotland against the £1.3 billion of cuts coming from Westminster.

“Over the last four years the SNP’s efforts in Government to bring Labour’s booming quango state under control has paid off and leaves Scotland in a better place to cope with the UK’s cuts. From completing the abolition of 26 different Justice of the Peace boards to merging Learning Teaching Scotland and HMIe – announced in October – we are looking at all possible ways to protect and improve services.

"We have taken action and cut quangos while opposition parties simply complain.

“With the Christie Commission established by Alex Salmond now looking at how best to deliver public services and discussions underway on reforms to police and fire boards the SNP has a clear commitment to getting the best value for money for Scotland’s tax payers and putting the most into our frontline public services.”