Question 1

What is a quango, and what is an arm's length body?

Accepted Answer

Organisations carrying out public functions **at a distance from ministers** — and the deliberate distance is the point, though it creates a genuine accountability question that has never been fully resolved.

**The terminology.** "Quango" — quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation — is a journalistic term, generally used critically. The official language is **arm's length body (ALB)**, and the formal categories are:

**Executive agencies** — part of a department, delivering services, with operational independence but ministerially accountable. The DVLA and HM Prison Service are examples.

**Non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)** — legally separate from departments, operating at greater distance. Divided into **executive** NDPBs delivering functions, **advisory** NDPBs providing expertise, and **tribunal** NDPBs.

**Non-ministerial departments**, headed by officials rather than ministers, used where independence from ministerial direction matters — Ofgem and the Competition and Markets Authority among them.

**Public corporations**, trading commercially.

**Why distance is deliberate.** Several functions are performed worse if ministers can direct them day to day:

**Regulation**, where independence from political pressure and from the industry is the point.

**Distributing funding on merit**, such as research councils and arts funding.

**Statistics**, where credibility depends on not being politically directed.

**Adjudication and inspection.**

**Technical decisions requiring expertise** rather than political judgement.

**The accountability problem.** Distance from ministers means distance from **Parliament**, since ministerial accountability is the main mechanism by which Parliament controls the executive. A body that ministers cannot direct is also a body ministers cannot be held responsible for — and "that is an operational matter for the agency" is a familiar answer.

**What exists instead:** framework agreements setting objectives; annual reports and accounts; audit; select committee scrutiny of the body directly; and appointment processes for boards.

**The recurring criticisms:** proliferation, with periodic "bonfire of the quangos" exercises that frequently rename rather than abolish; appointments perceived as patronage; and inconsistent transparency.

**The counter-argument** is that abolishing them returns functions to departments where political influence is greater, which is frequently the underlying objective of the criticism.

General information about UK public administration.

Question 2

What is an ombudsman, and when can you actually use one?

Accepted Answer

An independent body that investigates complaints about organisations after their own complaints process has been exhausted — free to the complainant, less formal than a court, and able to consider

Question 3

What is the difference between a police force, the NCA and the IOPC?

Accepted Answer

Three organisations frequently conflated: territorial police forces investigate crime locally; the National Crime Agency tackles serious and organised crime nationally; and the Independent Office for

Question 4

What is a select committee, and what power does it actually have?

Accepted Answer

A select committee is a cross-party group of backbench MPs or peers appointed to scrutinise a department, a subject or an issue — and its power is almost entirely about exposure rather than

Question 5

How are charities regulated, and what can a charity actually do?

Accepted Answer

Through a registration and oversight regime requiring that an organisation exists for recognised charitable purposes and for the public benefit — and that second requirement is doing more work than

Question 6

What is the ministerial code, and who enforces it?

Accepted Answer

A document setting out the standards of conduct expected of ministers — and the answer to who enforces it is the source of the persistent criticism: the Prime Minister, who is also bound by it. What

Question 7

What is the difference between a Bill, an Act and a statutory instrument?

Accepted Answer

They are three stages and forms of law-making, and confusing them leads to reporting that says something "is now law" when it is not. A Bill is a proposal for legislation. It has no legal force.

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