Taxpayers foot huge bill for 'quango state'

Taxpayers' money spent annually on quangos and other public bodies has soared by 50 per cent, to £123.8 billion, in only two years.

The report, compiled by officials at the Cabinet Office, also shows that at least 20 officials who sit on quangos have received pay rises of 20 per cent or more over the past year.

The massive cost of quangos is disclosed in the Public Bodies Directory 2006, which was released without publicity on the Cabinet Office's website two weeks ago. Almost 900 bodies are listed in the directory, including the British Potato Council, the Air Quality Expert Group and the Meat and Livestock Commission.

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The ballooning cost of such agencies will raise further concerns that the Government is losing its grip on public finances.

When in opposition, Tony Blair pledged to consign the "quango state" to the "dustbin of history". However, the directory shows that 299 of the 882 quangos and other public bodies were set up under New Labour. Nearly 30 have been created over the past year.

New quangos launched under Labour include the Music and Dance Scheme Advisory Group, the Public Diplomacy Board and the Disruptive Passengers Working Group.

Dan Lewis, the head of research at the Economic Research Council, said: "These figures are shocking and appalling. At a time when our troops are being underpaid and under-provisioned in Afghanistan, the Government has increased spending on quangos by more than £40 billion in just two years. That figure alone is more than the entire annual defence budget."

Theresa Villiers, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "Once again we see how Labour's promises have come to nothing. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have failed to deliver their promise of 'consigning the quango state to the dustbin'."