Editing Non-departmental public body (section)

==History, numbers and powers==
In March 2009 there were nearly 800 public bodies that were sponsored by the UK Government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PublicBodies2009_tcm6-35808.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011170940/http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/PublicBodies2009_tcm6-35808.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 October 2011 |title=Public bodies, 2009 |publisher=Cabinet Office |access-date=10 September 2009 }}</ref> This total included 198 executive NDPBs, 410 advisory bodies, 33 tribunals, 21 public corporations, the [[Bank of England]], 2 public broadcasting authorities and 23 NHS bodies. However, the classification is conservative and does not include bodies that are the responsibility of [[devolved government]], various lower tier boards (including a considerable number within the NHS), and also other boards operating in the public sector (e.g. school governors and police authorities).

These appointed bodies performed a large variety of tasks, for example [[health trust]]s, or the [[Welsh Development Agency]], and by 1992 were responsible for some 25% of all government expenditure in the UK. According to the Cabinet Office their total expenditure for the financial year 2005–06 was £167 billion.<ref>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070221120000/http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/publications/pdf/public-bodies/publicbodies2006.pdf Official list] ([[Portable Document Format|PDF]])</ref> 

As of March 2020, there were 237 non-departmental public bodies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Public Bodies 2020 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-bodies-2020 |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>