John Redwood

The Conservatives have welcomed a new report highlighting the proliferation of quangos in British public life.

Right-wing think tank the Centre for Policy Studies published the "Essential guide to British quangos" on Friday, finding that there are now 529 non-executive bodies running or overseeing public services with budgets of up to £2 billion per year.

The report from the CPS and and Economic Research Council's Efficiency In Government Unit concluded that at least 113 of these have been established by Tony Blair's administration and singled out the Legal Service Commission as the most costly and the British Potato Council as the "most useless".

"If such an organisation was necessary, it should be voluntary," it concluded. "Few British potato consumers would feel that their life was blighted if the BPC were to disappear."

Report author Dan Lewis called for a public inquiry into the proliferation of quangos and the duplication of their work.

"There is no cut and thrust of competition to weed out weaker players. As a result, a substantial number of NDPBs [non-departmental public bodies] duplicates each other's efforts," he said.

And shadow secretary of state for deregulation John Redwood said the Tories would take action to curb their growth.

"I am delighted the Centre for Policy Studies and Economic Research Council have produced such a lucid guide to the labyrinth of the quango state," he said.

"Their research endorses our policy of destroying unwanted and unnecessary quangos, and slimming down the rest. Their list of 529 quangos, 111 established under this present government, shows just how massive this activity now is.

"A Conservative government will axe 162 quangos, as part of its drive for more efficient and more accountable government. That is the way to deliver lower taxes and more democracy to public life."