Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts

Wednesday 9th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Chris Skidmore (Kingswood) (Con)]

4. What mechanisms he plans to use to review the effectiveness of non-departmental public bodies.

[Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)]

9. What mechanisms he plans to use to review the effectiveness of non-departmental public bodies.

[Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con)]

10. What mechanisms he plans to use to review the effectiveness of non-departmental public bodies.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Maude]

First, I congratulate my hon. Friend on the very vigorous campaign that he has fought and continues to fight in the interests of his constituents to protect the work of the Frenchay hospital. I have visited the hospital and I know what good work it does. He is absolutely right that transparency is the friend of the citizen in exposing what the state spends its money on. It will enable communities, individuals and organisations to exercise and enforce much greater accountability. Money is going to be increasingly scarce in the years ahead, thanks to what we inherited from the Labour party, and it is going to be increasingly important that it is spent where it is needed, at the front line, on patients and on parents whose children are at school.

[Andrew Stephenson]

I thank my right hon. Friend for those reassurances. Will he tell us what we are going to do to stop the proliferation of more and more quangos, as happened under the previous Government?

[Mr Maude]

In addition to applying rigorously to existing public bodies and quangos the three tests that we have set out, we will ensure that public bodies do not come into existence unless they are absolutely necessary to meet one of those three tests. Bodies that spend public money and deliberate on policy should in general be accountable, through Ministers, to Parliament. That is a basic principle, and that is what we will enforce in future.