[Straits Times] BRITAIN is to abolish, merge or reform 481 semi-independent state agencies to cut spending and help cut its deficit, under a plan that will cost thousands of jobs and change the way many services are delivered.
| Are these the same changes that have been discussed before, or are they new ones? |
The overhaul of what the government calls 'arm's length bodies' because they are not under direct ministerial control will affect agencies with a wide variety of responsibilities ranging from competition to child protection to renewable fuels.
'It will save money, but that is not the principal objective of it, actually. The principal objective is to increase accountability,' Francis Maude, the minister in charge of the reforms, told BBC radio.
The two-party government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats that came into power in May had pledged in its coalition agreement to reduce the number and cost of arm's length bodies as part of its deficit reduction strategy.
Britain's budget deficit stands at more than 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and the coalition has set itself the goal of almost eliminating it in five years.
That means deep cuts in public spending, many of which will be detailed when a Comprehensive Spending Review is unveiled on Oct 20. Among the controversial measures already signalled are cuts to child benefits and increases in student tuition fees.
| The moneyed parents are upset, and the uni students have been demonstrating, or so I've heard. |
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