Government announces bonfire of quangos
The UK government has today confirmed that hundreds of quangos will be scrapped, merged or scaled back. However, this has provoked a furious backlash from trade unions and senior civil servants who believe that it will be counter-productive with regards to the long-term aim of making government spending more transparent for the UK public. However, there is a sting in the tail!
One of the main reasons that the trade unions and senior civil servants appear to be against the so-called bonfire of the quangos is the fact that due to the terms and conditions applicable to those employed by some of these quangos it may well be more expensive to close them down than keep them going!
How on earth have we got to a situation where it cost more to close down these quangos than it does to run these unelected and often expensive operations?
It is believed that due to redeployment terms, pension fund arrangements and retraining obligations it may well be uneconomical for the UK government to close down some of these quangos in the short to medium term. However, surely there must be some scope for savings in the longer term?
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