Isra-Mart srl : Defra faces brunt of quango cuts as Carbon Trust awaits fate

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Department of Energy and Climate Change confirms Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust are still under review despite not being included in Cabinet Office cull.



The Carbon Trust and Energy Savings Trust are yet to fully escape the government's "bonfire of the quangos", despite failing to appear on the Cabinet Office list of agencies that are to be scrapped or reformed.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed that the two flagship green advisory bodies constituted "private bodies limited by guarantee" and as such were outside of the remit of the Cabinet Office review.

However, both agencies are still under assessment as part of a DECC review of its delivery landscape that is likely to informed by next week's Comprehensive Spending Review.

The results of that review are expected to be announced within the next few weeks, although the spokesman declined to confirm when it will be completed and gave no indication as to whether the Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust will be retained.

Were the government to cut funding to the two bodies both could choose to continue to operate as private entities, charging customers for the energy and carbon saving advice they provide.

The news came as the Cabinet Office announced that 192 quangos will be scrapped with a further 118 merged and another 171 "substantially reformed". A further 40 quangos will remain " under consideration" with 380 being retained in their current form. Overall 901 quangos were reviewed and 648 will remain once the consolidation process is completed.

Defra was amongst the department's hardest hit by the cuts, announcing that it will slash the number of arms length public bodies supported by the department from 82 to 32.

Under the changes, a host of environmental agencies will be abolished or reconstituted as charities or expert committees.

For example, a number of agencies tasked with tackling pollution, such as the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution are to be scrapped altogether. Meanwhile, numerous advisory bodies, such as the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances and Air Quality Advisory Group, will be reconstituted as more streamlined expert committees reporting directly to the Defra.

In addition, many of the department's largest quangos will face "substantial reforms".

Most notably, the Environment Agency and Natural England have been instructed to "dramatically reduce" back office costs, work closer with other bodies to end duplicated work, halt some activities that are deemed outside of the remit of government, and cease all policy making and lobbying activities.

"The Environment Agency plays a very important role, which is why they have been retained," said a Defra spokesman. "The aim of the reforms it to have the agency focusing more on its core functions and outputs, rather than as a body with a lobbying remit."

The agency has also been told to "implement demonstrable culture change and lead on innovative new ways of working which embrace Localism, Big Society and an improved customer focus", despite on-going public confusion and hostility towards the Big Society agenda.

British Waterways will similarly become a trail-blazer for the coalition's Big Society initiative, becoming the first government-backed body to transform itself into a charity along the lines of the National Trust.

A number of key Defra agencies appear to have escaped the cuts, including the Forestry Commission and Ofwat, although they could still experience reforms following upcoming reviews of their functions.

The Waste Resource Action Program (WRAP) also appears to have largely escaped the cull, after it was announced that Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman will deliver the keynote address at the body's annual conference early next month.

"There is no specific review of WRAP," said a spokesman for Defra. "WRAP is not affected by this review as it is outside the scope of the review, although the spending review will impact Defra's budget and that could impact WRAP."

Spelman admitted "difficult decisions" had been made on the future of a large number of agencies, but insisted reforms were needed to deliver "the best value for money in this challenging economic climate".

"The changes announced today also reflect the government's view that it should only carry out those functions which only government can do, while harnessing the power of civil society and the private sector to help deliver Defra's objectives," she added.

A number of other green quangos will also be scrapped as a result of the Cabinet Office review, including the Renewable Advisory Board and the Renewable Fuels Agency, which will see management of the UK's biofuel sector handed back to the Department for Transport.

However, the Technology Strategy Board, which provides significant funding to clean tech projects, has been retained on the grounds it performs "a function which requires impartiality", while the independent Committee on Climate Change has also been retained.