Their purpose gets muddled

Agencies, and the ministers and departments that set them up, need to be very clear about how their role, purpose and relationship with government will work – both from the outset and throughout the agency’s lifetime

They are not cost-effective

The report’s authors, Nicholas Timmins and Tom Gash of the IfG, say that many public agencies failed to react quickly enough to the political backlash against high public sector salaries in the mid-2000s. They conclude that the stubbornness of the Audit Commission’s board in attempting to secure salaries out of step with public opinion contributed to government’s decision to abolish it.

They become too big and diverse

Some public agencies turn into a dumping ground for various duties loosely related to their original purpose, becoming too disperse and unwieldy to do a good job.

Their structure changes too often

What is notable about the bodies discussed in the IfG report, the authors say, is that “with the sole exception of the Commission for Health Improvement, which was the first hospital inspectorate … they all had precursors that went into the new entity”.

They don’t connect with the public

As the report notes, there was no public outcry over the death of the Audit Commission. Perhaps it’s the turbulent history and various political upheavals – or perhaps public audit just isn’t very sexy – either way, an organisation with few friends is going to find it difficult to survive.