Priti Patel
Main Page: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)Department Debates - View all Priti Patel's debates with the Cabinet Office
(14 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Maude
The short point is that citizens advice bureaux carry a high degree of trust with citizens. They exist locally and are well supported, and they manage to mobilise very large amounts of voluntary activity. We must get away from the slightly outdated idea that to show that we care about something very much, we must set up a quango to express it.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
Will the Minister join me in welcoming the complete abolition of the Union Modernisation Fund Supervisory Board, which wasted hard-earned taxpayers’ money holding secret meetings in expensive hotels? It effectively handed taxpayers’ money to the trade unions. Will he give an assurance that he will take action to prevent such abuses of taxpayers’ money from happening in again?
Mr Maude
We have not taken a decision on the future of the Union Modernisation Fund itself, but my hon. Friend raises genuine concerns about the way in which the supervisory body operated. In the previous Parliament, I asked a number of questions about the publication of its minutes, but somewhat to my surprise I discovered that no such minutes were kept. That is the epitome of unaccountability and lack of transparency, which is exactly what I am seeking to address.