Labour would spend millions on dozens of new quangos
Size of the state to balloon under Starmer as units for energy, cladding and ‘value for money’ will be created
LABOUR would create dozens of new quangos costing tens of millions of pounds as it “balloons” in the size of the state, analysis suggests.
The Tories have looked at Labour’s policy announcements to create a list of new arm’s-length bodies planned by Sir Keir Starmer.
For example, the Labour leader has promised an Office for Value for Money, which he said would “chase down every penny we spend”. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has promised to launch a National Wealth Fund “so that when we invest in new industries, in partnership with business the British people will own a share of that wealth and the taxpayer will get a return on that investment”.
A new publicly owned clean energy company, Great British Energy, would meanwhile be set up to help pursue net zero. And Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, has pledged an independent Integrity and Ethics Commission to “stamp out corruption in government, strengthen the rules and ensure they are enforced”.
Among the many other new units would be ones focusing on supply chains, “skills”, community service and cladding. The party is also backing the creation of quangos that are already part of Tory government policy, such as an independent regulator for English football.
The Conservatives said that Labour’s policies reflected a “never-ending obsession with bureaucracy and ballooning the size of the state”.
It is unclear how much the new bodies would cost, but the Tories pointed to the £3.9million annual budget of the Office for Budget Responsibility – the watchdog upon which the Office for Value for Money is based – as an indication of the cost of individual quangos.
Commenting on the Office for Value for Money, the Tory chairman Greg Hands said: “This is classic Labour – proposing to set up an entire government agency to do what the Cabinet should be doing – looking after taxpayers’ money.
“They are incapable of making a decision – or sticking to one – which is why they are hell bent on having millions of officials to rely on to stuff government with process, process, process.”
Mr Hands added: “The Conservatives streamlined government after Labour last left office – saving taxpayers’ billions of pounds helping us deliver on our priorities to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats.”
According to the Cabinet Office, there are currently 295 arm’s-length bodies, accounting for more than £220billion of taxpayer’s money.
Labour has said it would create many more, including Skills England, which would “oversee the national effort to meet the skills needs of the coming decade across all regions”.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow trade secretary, has also said that a Labour government would create a “nationwide network of climate export hubs” to “work with businesses, universities
‘This is classic Labour: proposing to set up an entire government agency to do what the Cabinet should be doing’
‘The Tories streamlined government, saving millions of pounds helping us deliver on our priorities’
and other innovators, to take UK climate science innovations and export them to the world”.
Steve Reed, the shadow justice secretary, is planning “community payback boards”, in which victims of crime would oversee community sentences, choose the unpaid work to be done by offenders and make sure that sentences are carried out in full. Labour’s national “mission” to “build an NHS fit for the future” proposes a “mission delivery board” for the health service which would have a role “akin to the climate change committee”.
In other cases, it is unclear whether policies proposed by Labour constitute fully fledged arm’s-length bodies or internal units within Whitehall. For example, the party has promised a plethora of task forces, including a National Cladding Taskforce, Illicit Finance Taskforce and a supply chain taskforce.
The Tories have repeatedly pledged to reduce the size of the state.
In last summer’s leadership contest, Rishi Sunak’s campaign promised to “demand greater savings from quangos”. Labour were contacted for comment.