UK government cuts renewables bodies

(ADPnews) - Oct 18, 2010 – The UK government has abolished the Renewables Advisory Board (RAB) and Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) as part of a review of government-funded bodies released last week.

The government has revealed a total of 901 quangos, with 192 abolished, 481 reformed and 118 merged into 57 quangos - leaving 648 bodies remaining.

The RAB, managed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), was initially established in 2002 by as an independent body of experts to advise the government on renewables policy. Meanwhile, the RFA - which falls under the Department for Transports' remit - was in charge of administering the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO). The RFTO targets refiners, importers and any others who supply more than 450,000 litres of fossil-based road transport fuel to supply a certain percentage of biofuels within their fuel.

The cabinet has decided to retain the Committee on Climate Change - an independent body which advises the government on climate change policies - on the grounds of the need to act independently. And, energy regulator Ofgem is safe, however is under review by DECC.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said it was impossible to reveal how many employees will be affected by the cuts or how much money will be saved.

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