What could Labour abolish next after NHS England was scrapped?

There are more than 300 ‘quangos’ in the UK – and the largest is now set to be axed

As Labour announces the end of NHS England to “cut bureaucracy” and bring the health service “back into democratic control”, all eyes are on the hundreds of other quangos which could face a similar fate.

Funded by billions in government spending, NHS England is Britain’s largest quango and makes decisions on the running of the national health service. Carrying out an administrative function, it is largely run by managers and officials.

The change will result in the loss of 9,000 jobs as this control is moved away from NHS England and folded into the Department for Health and Social Care. Health secretary Wes Streeting said the move will end a “complex bureaucracy with two organisations doing the same jobs”.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said the move will end a “complex bureaucracy” (PA)

He added: “NHS staff are working flat out but the current system sets them up to fail. These changes will support the huge number of capable, innovative and committed people across the NHS to deliver for patients and taxpayers.”

But NHS England is just one of more than 300 quangos operating in Britain. And will the largest of the lot (by far) facing the axe, it can no longer be taken for granted that any arms-length body is ruled out.

Labour has not announced any further plans to axe other quangos just yet, but ministers’ central messaging of “cutting red tape” and “reducing bureaucracy” sends a clear signal that other cuts could be on the table in the near future.

What is a quango?

Quango stands for ‘quasi autonomous non-governmental organisation.’ The term covers three different types of arms-length bodies in the UK, each with varying degrees of connection to a sponsoring department and accountability to ministers.

They are bodies like regulators and advisory groups which, although funded by taxpayer money, are not directly controlled by central government. However, quangos are created to carry out set functions by the government. Those with the most autonomy – like HMRC or the Crown Prosecution Service – act like departments in their own right.

There are over 300 quangos in the UK, with varying responsibilities. Alongside NHS England, there are big quangos like Network Rail and Homes England, and smaller ones like the British Film Institute and the Gambling Commission.

HMRC is one of the UK’s largest quangos (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

This number has fallen by more than half since 2010 after David Cameron’s coalition government axed around 300 of them in a £500 million-saving plan.

Since coming into power, Labour has created 27 new quangos, including the Fair Work Agency and the Independent Football Regulator.

What are the other largest quangos?

The latest data on the UK’s quangos comes from 2023, when there were 304 arms-length bodies in operation. Of these, the ten largest received the vast majority of funding - 92 per cent.

NHS England was by far the largest of these, receiving £159.26 billion in 2023. The next largest, the Education and Skills Funding Agency, received £67.46 billion.

After this is HM Revenue and Customs, with £45.22 billion funding, and Network Rail Limited, with £19.24 billion. These are the only four arms-length bodies that received more than £10 billion in funding in the year.

Here is the top ten in full: