Thread by @thetimes

Exclusive: Quangos Unchained

A Times investigation has found that spending on government agencies reached £29 billion last year, with staff paid six-figure salaries for as little as two days’ work a week thetimes.co.uk/article/the-pa…

Quangos are government agencies, advisory bodies and advisory groups that operate semi-independently from ministerial departments

Critics have accused the government of needless waste and cronyism, with newly appointed quango bosses including a former Tory minister

At the end of the coalition government in 2015, spending bottomed out at £18 billion following David Cameron’s “bonfire of the quangos”

Now, almost 100 arms-length body executives now earn more than Boris Johnson’s salary of £157,372

The National Audit Office has raised concerns about how arms-length government bodies, which spend £270bn and employ 320,000 people, are managed by the Cabinet Office

The report found that it “does not have the right data to support proportionate risk-based oversight” of quangos

The NAO found that for 40% of proposals for newly established quangos, no serious effort had gone into considering alternative ways of providing the service

Some non-executive directors (NEDs) – who perform an oversight role at government agencies – have been able to earn almost as much as the Prime Minister in part-time roles alone, whilst also enjoying lucrative private-sector jobs

Mark Russell, chairman of Defence Equipment and Support, earns £150,000 per year for a three day a week NED role overseeing military procurement

He also works as a NED of DP World, the Dubai based owner of P&O Ferries, earning a further £145,000 in fees

Who’s running the quangos?

Lord Wharton said that his lack of experience in higher education would allow him to offer a “fresh perspective” as head of higher education regulator the Office for Students

What he did not list on the CV he submitted to the education select committee, which was scrutinising his selection this year, was his role in managing Boris Johnson’s Conservative leadership campaign in 2019

As well as earning £59,000 for two days a week chairing the Office for Students, the former Stockton South MP has also enjoyed an extensive political advisory career

For example, he advises major Tory donor Aquind
thetimes.co.uk/article/alexan…

Lord Wharton is just one of a number of appointments whose political links, very high salaries, or portfolio of other interests have come into question

Tory peers currently chair five quangos, ranging from NHS bodies to climate change organisations

Current and future quango chairs include:

🔴 Dido Harding, outgoing chair of NHS improvement

🔴 Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre, possible chair of Ofcom

🔴 Lord Marland, Tory peer and ex-trade envoy, possible head of the Competition & Markets Authority thetimes.co.uk/article/the-pa…