The quangos set for axe in Yorkshire

The regional development agency, based in Leeds, was founded in 1999 and is one of nine RDAs in England.

Tasked with improving the economy in the region, it is funded by central government and also receives funding from the EU.

Yorkshire Forward employs 400 staff and their goal is to make the region a better place to live, work and invest, and to ensure that it is able to compete on the domestic and global stage.

Earlier this year it announced 40m worth of cuts as ministers confirmed it was to be abolished.

National policing Improvement Agency

The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) was formed in April 2007 to improve public safety through critical services for police forces, such as the national fingerprint and DNA databases, and providing professional expertise.

In July the Government published a consultation document, Policing in the 21st Century: Re-connecting the police and the people.

It condenses the priorities for the NPIA, which is based in Harrogate with 200 staff, into two - cost effectiveness, helping to deliver savings of 1 billion through improved IT and better procurement and planning by forces by March 2015, and the critical national services.

Health Protection Agency

The Health Protection Agency employs 155 staff across the region and was set up in 2003 to protect the public from threats from infectious diseases and environmental hazards.

It provides advice and information to the general public, to health professionals and to national and local government.

The agency also identifies and responds to health hazards and emergencies caused by infectious disease, hazardous chemicals, poisons or radiation.

The HPA combines public health and scientific knowledge, research and emergency planning – and works at international, national, regional and local levels.

British Waterways

British Waterways is the public corporation that cares for the 2,200-mile network of canals and rivers in England, Scotland and Wales.

It employs 150 staff at its Leeds office who work to protect waterways, secure and earn funding, and invest it to optimise the public benefit waterways can deliver.

The agency is looking at becoming a charitable trust. British Waterways was established by an Act of Parliament in 1962. It is a public corporation and receives an annual grant.

Audit Commission

Established in 1983, the Audit Commission is an independent watchdog that assesses the economic efficiency and effectiveness in public services.

Employing 143 staff in the region, it assumed auditing responsibility for the National Health Service in 1990 and for fire and rescue services in 2004.

It now covers local government, health, housing, community safety and fire brigades and audits 200bn spent by 11,000 local public bodies.

On August 13 the Communities Secretary announced the government's plan to wind the Commission up by December 2012.

Appointments Commission

The Appointments Commission employs 54 people at its Leeds office and was established in 2001 to provide an independent and transparent appointment process for public sector jobs.

As an 'arms length body' of the Department of Health, the Commission originally focused exclusively on the appointment of chairs and non-executives to local NHS boards.

Within two years Ministers extended its remit to include appointments to all bodies in the health and social care sector and in October 2006 it was given new powers to provide recruitment and selection services for all Government departments and NHS foundation trusts.

The Commission is governed by a board comprising a non-executive chair, four executive directors and four non-executive directors, one of whom must be a Health and Social Care Commissioner.

School Food Trust

The School Food Trust is an independent body with the remit of improving school food and food handling skills.

It employs 42 staff in Sheffield and was set up in 2005 with 15m of funding from the Department for Education.

In April 2007 the Trust became registered as a Charity. It is charged with taking forward standards to transform school food and food skills to improve health and education for school age children and young people.

It was formed after studies linked children's diets to their immediate and long-term health.

Experience from schools also suggested that when children eat a balanced diet they find it easier to concentrate in the classroom and their behaviour is significantly improved.

Legal Services Commission

The Legal Services Commission runs the legal aid scheme in England and Wales and employs 40 staff at its Leeds office.

The LSC work in partnership with solicitors and not-for-profit organisations to provide information, advice and legal representation to people in need.

Each year the LSC helps more than two million people to deal with legal problems. It is to be replaced with an 'executive agency', so staff may be kept on.

HM Inspectorate of Court Administration

HMICA inspects and reports to the Lord Chancellor on the system that supports the Crown, county and magistrates' courts and the services provided for them.

Based in Leeds with approximately 10 staff, it carries out regular inspections and monitors leadership, strategy and planning. It highlights good practice and recommends improvements where necessary.

The agency also monitors how courts use their staff, manage their resources and understands the needs of the public, their partners and stakeholders.

Pesticides Residues Committee

It is based in York but has no dedicated staff. The monitoring of pesticides residues in food is not new and has in fact been undertaken since the 1950s.

From 1977 until 2000, surveillance was organised and administered entirely by a government committee known as the Working Party on Pesticide Residues.

The government was, however, keen to involve a wider range of the public and independent experts to act in an advisory role and therefore, in 2000 the independent Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) was formed.

The York-based committee, which has no dedicated staff, publishes quarterly reports and an annual report.