Cameron announces plans to reform quangos

David Cameron has set out plans to increase democratic accountability by reducing the number of quangos.

In a speech to the Reform think tank, David announced that some powers will be handed back to Ministers, some quangos will be reformed and slimmed down, and others – including Ofcom and the Qualifications, Curriculum and Development Agency - will cease to exist in their current form.

He stressed, "The problem today is that too much of what government does is actually done by people that no-one can vote out, by organisations that feel no pressure to answer for what happens and in a way that is relatively unaccountable."

The policy-making functions of Ofcom – such as deciding the future of local news and Channel 4 – will be handed back to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; and the responsibilities of the Qualifications, Curriculum and Development Agency will be transferred to the Department for Children Schools and Families.

David explained that the Shadow Cabinet are reviewing every independent public body that exists in their department to see if they “perform a technical, fairness or transparency function.”

And he stressed that reforming quangos is "vital" to fix our broken politics and "bring real people power" to every aspect of political life:

"We want people to know that when Conservative politicians stand up and make promises, they're prepared to take responsibility and won't end up passing the buck. We want people to know that with a Conservative government, they will have more power, more control, more say over the things that matter to them. And above all we want people to know that change is possible; that things can be different; that they can make a difference."