Government forced into U-turn over cost of scrapping quangos
THE GOVERNMENT was forced into a U-turn yesterday, after it said it would save £8.62m by scrapping four quangos, before later admit
ting that the real saving to the taxpayer would amount to just £603,000.
The Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy (Sabip), Sitpro (Simplifying International Trade), the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Advisory Body (Wab) and the British Shipbuilders Corporation are all being abolished.
The annual cost of running the bodies is £8.62m, but the real saving will be £603,000, as the department for business will simply start carrying out most of the quangos’ functions itself.
Business secretary Vince Cable said: “We are absolutely committed to reducing the number and cost of quangos that we no longer need.”