ALBs were sponsored by
22
ministerial and non-ministerial departments
Ministry of Justice
67
sponsored the most ALBs
Department of Health and Social Care
£163.2 Bn
allocated the most Government funding to ALBs
Ministry of Justice
82,493 FTE
also sponsored the largest ALB workforce
The 305 ALBs in 2022/23 were sponsored by 19 ministerial departments within the UK Government. Some ALBs, such as Non-Ministerial Departments operate with greater degree of independence from their sponsoring ministerial department, and may have their own relationship with HM Treasury when negotiating their budgets. Some Non-Ministerial Departments, such as HM Revenue and Customs, Food Standards Agency and the Forestry Commission, also sponsor other ALBs, and have direct sponsorship oversight for these ALBs.
The three departments who sponsored the most Arms Length Bodies were: Ministry of Justice (67), Department for Culture, Media and Sport (36), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (19). Whilst Ministry of Justice sponsors the the largest number of ALBs, its important to note that the majority of these (44) are Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace, which have no dedicated budget, spending or staff. These ALBs operate in an advisory capacity and any resources they do use are typically consolidated within the wider Ministry of Justice budget.
While the overall number of staff employed by ALBs has increased from 318,714 in 2019/20 to 390,845 in 2022/23, most of this increase can be attributed to ALBs sponsored by a small number of departments. The ALB workforce sponsored by the Department for Transport increased by 48,577 during this period, mostly driven by the 41,147 staff employed by Network Rail. The workforce of ALBs sponsored by Ministry of Justice also increased by 13,256 during this time period.
Machinery of Government changes in 2022/23 also saw the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy split apart into Department for Business and Trade, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and Department for Science Innovation, and Technology. With this change, most of the ALBs sponsored by BEIS were split between these departments, whilst sponsorship of HM Land Registry was moved to Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Much like the size of the ALB workforce, Government funding for ALBs has also increased from £271.9 Bn in 2019/20 to £353.3 Bn 2022/23. The 3 sponsoring departments with the largest increases in ALB funding were: Department of Health and Social Care (from £131.8 Bn to £163.2 Bn), Department for Transport (from £3.5 Bn to £33.1 Bn), and Department for Education (from £60.7 Bn to £69.6 Bn). The large increase for Department of Health and Social Care is attributable to increases in funding for NHS England.
It is important to note that while sponsorship of Network Rail has increased the amount of Government funding for ALBs sponsored by Department for Transport between 2019/20 and 2022/23, Network Rail itself was reclassified as a Central Government Body in September 2014, and it was only in 2022 that it formally became classified as an Arm’s Length Body.
The way that ALBs receive money can vary depending on their purpose and operational remit. Some ALBs are funded only by direct government funding, some ALBs are funded by levies and fees to their service users, and other ALBs are funded by a mix of government funding and levies. Below is a breakdown of the income for each ALB sponsored by each ministerial and non-ministerial department.
Stats for Attorney Generals Office:
Organisations in Scope: 3
Total Staff in 2022/23: 9,973.3
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £771,167,042
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £29,254,897
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £866,508,000
Stats for Cabinet Office:
Organisations in Scope: 11
Total Staff in 2022/23: 6,896.1
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £599,159,033
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £36,376,639
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £656,679,442
Stats for Department for Business and Trade:
Organisations in Scope: 14
Total Staff in 2022/23: 5,251.1
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £374,574,080
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £22,885,258
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £354,115,825
Stats for Department for Culture, Media and Sport:
Organisations in Scope: 36
Total Staff in 2022/23: 14,150.1
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £1,677,313,000
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £446,457,000
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £2,254,292,000
Stats for Department for Education:
Organisations in Scope: 15
Total Staff in 2022/23: 8,317.4
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £69,310,454,098
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £159,127,510
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £69,632,113,396
Stats for Department for Energy Security and Net Zero:
Organisations in Scope: 10
Total Staff in 2022/23: 5,968.6
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £540,528,300
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £2,503,652,680
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £3,188,002,780
Stats for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Organisations in Scope: 19
Total Staff in 2022/23: 23,735.2
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £3,457,196,399
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £785,482,718
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £4,016,626,297
Stats for Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities:
Organisations in Scope: 12
Total Staff in 2022/23: 8,881.4
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £720,901,658
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £3,882,653,000
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £4,624,504,070
Stats for Department for Science, Innovation and Technology:
Organisations in Scope: 10
Total Staff in 2022/23: 13,554.1
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £391,508,281
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £9,701,034,984
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £10,302,780,766
Stats for Department for Transport:
Organisations in Scope: 15
Total Staff in 2022/23: 66,912
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £11,337,221,605
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £16,200,247,594
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £33,132,883,642
Stats for Department for Work and Pensions:
Organisations in Scope: 6
Total Staff in 2022/23: 4,247.9
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £415,937,066
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £33,790,461
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £484,520,766
Stats for Food Standards Agency:
Organisations in Scope: 7
Total Staff in 2022/23: 1,332
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £135,616,088
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £9,549,000
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £147,640,000
Stats for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office:
Organisations in Scope: 7
Total Staff in 2022/23: 9,450.7
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £938,478,548
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £83,883,767
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £215,149,406
Stats for Forestry Commission:
Organisations in Scope: 11
Total Staff in 2022/23: 1,068
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £73,320,000
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £49,992,000
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £121,718,000
Stats for HM Revenue and Customs:
Organisations in Scope: 2
Total Staff in 2022/23: 67,519
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £6,547,189,704
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £595,978,546
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £45,520,101,926
Stats for HM Treasury:
Organisations in Scope: 9
Total Staff in 2022/23: 1,169.7
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £280,279,101
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £16,554,998
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £797,533,000
Stats for Home Office:
Organisations in Scope: 15
Total Staff in 2022/23: 8,056.4
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £891,045,809
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £115,600,381
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £772,864,081
Stats for Ministry of Defence:
Organisations in Scope: 16
Total Staff in 2022/23: 26,373.6
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £2,099,792,181
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £977,522,843
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £3,228,931,357
Stats for Ministry of Justice:
Organisations in Scope: 67
Total Staff in 2022/23: 82,492.7
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £9,365,485,073
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £986,286,333
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £9,764,615,064
Stats for Northern Ireland Office:
Organisations in Scope: 3
Total Staff in 2022/23: 36
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £3,405,340
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £0
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £3,493,547
Stats for Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland:
Organisations in Scope: 1
Total Staff in 2022/23: 3.2
Total RDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £284,000
Total CDEL Expenditure in 2022/23: £0
Total Government Funding in 2022/23: £412,000
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