Quango

From Free net encyclopedia

The acronyms Qango and Quango, variously spelt out as QUAsi Non Governmental Organisation, Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Organisation, and Quasi-Autonomous National Government Organisation have been used, notably in the United Kingdom to describe a range of organisations to which governments have devolved power. Confusion over the meaning of the acryonym has been reflected in confusion over the use of the term, and may have contributed to its decline in use.

The term originated as a humorous shortening of Quasi-NGO, that is, an ostensibly non-governmental organisation which performs governmental functions, often with government funding or other support <ref name="Wettenhall"> Wettenhall, R 1981 'The quango phenomenon', Current Affairs Bulletin 57(10):14-22.]</ref> There are many such organisations. For example, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) was created by the US government to provide mortgage insurance, and its performance of this task is assisted by a perception that it is backed by the government. In Australia and other countries, the Red Cross provides blood bank services, with government support and backing of various kinds. Examples in the United Kingdom include bodies engaged in self-regulation of various sectors, such as the Press Council and the Law Society. An essential feature of a Quango, in the original definition, was that it should not be formally part of the public sector.

However, the appeal of the term was such that it was extended to a wide range of governmental organisations, such as statutory authorities providing health, education and other services. Particularly in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, this extension took place in a polemical context, being associated with claims that the proliferation of such authorities was undesirable and should be reversed. In the course of this process, attempts were made to derive the acryonym from longer terms which did not carry the presumption that the organisation in question was non-governmental. The most popular was Quasi-Autonomous National Government Organisation, which, however, carries with it the false presumption that state and local governments cannot make use of Quangos. Similarly, the insertion of the word "autonomous" does not work in a descriptive sense: the main complaint about these organisations is that they have too much autonomy, rather than, as with the original term, that their apparent autonomy conceals a close relationship with government.

The UK government's definition of a QUANGO is:

"A body which has a role in the processes of national government, but is not a government department or part of one, and which accordingly operates to a greater or lesser extent at arm's length from Ministers."

Since most of such bodies are in fact part of the government in terms of funding, appointment and function, the acronym does not work as a description - these are generally not non-governmental organisations with less autonomy than others. As a result, it has largely been abandoned in official usage. The less controversial term non-departmental public body (NDPB) is now used to describe these organisations, in an attempt to avoid the pejorative associations of the term QUANGO.

1 NDPBs in the United Kingdom
2 See also
- 2.1 External references
3 Notes

[edit]

NDPBs in the United Kingdom

There are hundreds, if not thousands of NDPBs in the UK [1] (PDF). It is difficult to determine how many because some are the responsibility of devolved government. Before 1997, the incoming Labour Government promised to reduce the number and power of NDPBs. Some question whether this has happened as much as it could have. Mark Thomas story on Quangos (original version) (Also BBC News Article 2005/02/11)

These appointed bodies performed a large variety of tasks, for example health trusts, or the Welsh Development Agency, and by 1992 were responsible for some 25% of all government expenditure in the UK.

Critics argued that the system was open to abuse as most NDPBs had their members directly appointed by government ministers without an election or consultation with the people. The press, critical of what was perceived as the Conservatives' complacency in power in the 1990s, presented much material interpreted as evidence of questionable government practices.

This concern led to the formation of a Committee on Standards in Public Life [2] (the Nolan Committee) which first reported in 1995 and recommended the creation of a public appointments commissioner to make sure that appropriate standards were met in the appointment of members of QUANGOs. The Government accepted the recommendation, and the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments [3] was established in November 1995.

The use of NDPBs has continued under the Labour government in office since 1997, but the political controversy associated with NDPBs in the mid-1990s has now for the most part died away. It is not entirely clear why this occurred, though proponents of the Labour Government claim it as a result of their reforms.

Organizations that have been described (rightly or wrongly) as QUANGOs or NDPBs: