UK considers shutting hundreds of public bodies to streamline government

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said it could close hundreds of arms-length government agencies, as it looks to reform the state to cut costs and improve productivity in what it called "a new era of global instability".

Britain has hundreds of quangos, or quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations. These are taxpayer-funded but not controlled by ministers, and include public bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive, Network Rail and the Migration Advisory Committee.

"Every quango across government will be reviewed, with a view to close, merge or bring functions back into (government) departments if its continued existence cannot be justified," the government said in a statement on Monday.

Britain is in belt-tightening mode as finance minister Rachel Reeves tries to meet her fiscal rules while also dealing with the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs which have cut economic growth forecasts.

The government warned that global instability meant it had to go "further and faster" in its reforms of the bureaucracy.

Last month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was scrapping NHS England, a body overseeing the health system, and bring its functions back into the government's health department, aiming to save hundreds of millions of pounds.

Some quangos would remain unaffected by the reforms, such as those which scrutinise government or protect the rule of law, the government said.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)