6/ … and noted that it had in the past been harder to reduce the functions performed by public body numbers than to reduce the number of bodies per se:

5/ I expressed concern that the current attempt to reduce public body numbers might prejudge its outcome…:

4/ I discussed the importance of the “three tests” for when public bodies should exist, but the need to update them to more closely resemble a business case for public bodies:

3/ We discussed the constraints that legislation can put on the flexibility of government agencies, and in that context the possibility of making them easier to reconfigure:

2/ Asked whether public bodies would be missed if they were gone, I discussed the independence required for some functions, but also the importance of delegation in government: