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Quango

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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, but also in Australia and other countries, 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 Wettenhall, R 1981 'The quango phenomenon', Current Affairs Bulletin 57(10):14-22.] 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 executive agencies (from 1988) 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.

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 UK official usage. The less controversial term non-departmental public body (NDPB) is now used to describe many of the organisations with devolved governmental roles, in an attempt to avoid the pejorative associations of the term Quango.

The UK government's definition of a non-departmental public body or quango in 1997 was:

"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." [link]
The use of executive agencies with service delivery functions has developed alongside NDPBs in the UK. These agencies do not usually have a legal identity separate from that of their parent department; and, unless they have trading fund status, their accounts form part of the accounts of the parent department. The NHS also has bodies called Special Health Authorities which are technically neither NDPBs nor executive agencies, and the Department of Health collectively describes all three types as "arm's length bodies".

Contents

List of Quangos by Government Department

Cabinet Office

Department of Constitutional Affairs

Department for Education and Skills

Department for Transport

Department of Work and Pensions

Treasury

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department of Health

Department for Trade and Industry

Ministry of Defence

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

See also

References

Wettenhall, R 1981 'The quango phenomenon', Current Affairs Bulletin 57(10):14-22.

Notes

External links

 

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