Quango spending rises by £10bn
By Alexis Alison
Annual spending on quangos has increased by more than 25% since Gordon Brown became prime minister.
The amount spent on quangos shot up from £37 billion to £46.5 billion.
Tories criticised the substantial rise in the annual figure, claiming a lack of transparency and poor accountability had driven up the cost of government bodies.
Shadow cabinet office minister Francis Maude said: “Gordon Brown continues to burn taxpayers’ money on a quango gravy train, making a mockery of his claims to deliver a new politics.”
The new Cabinet Office statistics show the cost of quangos rose by nearly £10 billion despite pledges in last year’s efficiency savings package to cut costs.
Yesterday, the survey of non-departmental public bodies was published, unannounced, on the Cabinet Office website.
As the number of quangos fell from 827 to 766, employment rose from 95,000 to 110,000, the survey found.
After the latest report, Conservatives have promised to perform their own review of quango expenditures.
