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Health quangos facing axe

By Alisdair Stirling

Key vaccination and homeopathy advisory bodies are among 177 quangos earmarked for abolition by the Government, according to a leaked report.

Around 30 health-related bodies, including the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products (ABRHP), are named in a leaked Cabinet Office memo published in national newspapers last week.

The Conservatives had suggested merging the JCVI with NICE in the run-up to the general election. The ABRHP is part of the MHRA but could be scrapped altogether under the proposals.

Other health-related quangos named on the list include:

  • the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
  • the Advisory Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections
  • the Expert Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS, the Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee
  • the Independent Advisory Group of Sexual Health and HIV
  • the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy.

Around 30 health-related bodies are named on the list of quangos facing the axe Around 30 health-related bodies are named on the list of quangos facing the axe