According to John Philpott, public policy director and chief economist at the CIPD, a "Byzantine system" of quangos has emerged covering employment, skills, pay, equality and employee relations. He thinks a review of their functions is long overdue.
He said: "It is far from clear how much value for money the existing jobs-related quangos provide to the taxpayer - a review of their size, efficiency and remit is long overdue. There is a strong case for limiting the remit of quangos and streamlining their functions to reduce duplication and possible over-staffing.
"One possibility we would strongly recommend is to streamline several of the existing bodies into a single Workplace Commission with the simple remit of spreading best practice on how to boost productivity across both the private and public sectors.
"Politicians with a genuine interest in building a ‘bonfire of quangos' should, be mindful of the difficulty of setting such a bonfire alight. The ‘quangocrats' are invariably powerful and influential members of the broader political establishment and often highly skilled in the art of self-preservation, with many supporters and acolytes ready to defend them in the corridors of power. Taking on the quangos is always easier said than done."
We need to get rid of some of the employment-related quangos, says the CIPD
The CIPD has called for the number of quangos operating in the employment field to be cut back as it is "far from clear" what value the plethora of these organisations provides to the taxpayer.
