Quangos

“Quango” is a widely used term for a public body that is not a government department but for which government ministers are ultimately accountable to parliament. The term, which stands for “quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation”, is often used pejoratively by critics. The official term used by the UK government is “arm’s-length body” (ALB). These organisations are […]

Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the United Kingdom’s independent fiscal watchdog. It is a non-departmental public body tasked with providing independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances. The OBR was established in 2010 with the primary objective of removing any political biases and possible prejudices from fiscal forecasting. Its analysis forms […]

Civil service

The civil service is the permanent, politically impartial organisation that supports the government of the day in developing and implementing its policies. It is the operational and administrative tool of government, responsible for delivering public services and providing evidence-based advice to elected ministers. While government ministers set policy and make political decisions, civil servants are […]