Written Questions: Arms Length Bodies

Arm’s length bodies (ALBs) are a vital part of how the Government delivers policies and public services. It is important that they are accountable and transparent. Almost all departments oversee ALBs, which operate with varying degrees of autonomy, but all are subject to scrutiny.

While Ministers are held accountable to Parliament for the body's overall performance, ALBs are already held to account in numerous ways, including long-established lines of accountability within government, and externally, including to Parliament. For example, Select Committees can, and do, call in the Chief Executives and Chairs of Public Bodies when there are concerns regarding an individual body or sectoral issues.

The Government’s Guide to Parliamentary Work outlines best practice for departments at paragraphs 226-227:

"There is no provision for ALBs to answer WPQs/QWAs directly in either House. Ministers from sponsoring departments answer questions on ALBs’ behalf, which may include information provided by the Chief Executive (or equivalent) of the ALB in question. It is normal practice for a department receiving a WPQ/QWA relating entirely to the operations of an arm’s length body to provide an answer on behalf of that body.

Letters from the arm’s length body should either be pasted into the answer box in full, preceded by a suitable introduction explaining the relationship between the body and the department, or uploaded as attachments provided that a suitable introduction has been pasted into the answer box. The text in the answer box should be as self-contained as possible."