Taxpayer-funded bodies accused of costing Britain billions and blocking major projects

Policy Exchange says unelected public bodies are driving up costs and delaying major infrastructure projects, and calls for a broad reduction in their powers or numbers. Conservative deputy leader Alex Burghart backed the report’s concerns, saying quangos can make costly rules without sufficient ministerial or parliamentary accountability.

The report says more than 300 public bodies employed about 397,000 people in 2023-24, around two-thirds more than a decade earlier. It cites a £100 million tunnel built to protect bats during HS2 construction and a £700 million scheme to prevent fish entering a nuclear power station, alongside claims that environmental advice has delayed at least 100,000 homes. The article says the proposals may influence the Conservatives’ next manifesto; the party has already pledged to abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency.