Analysis: It's not just a way of giving jobs to MPs' friends

IT is one of those promises which usually only serves to reinforce cynicism in politics and politicians.

New administrations come into power and with it promise a bonfire of the quangos, an end to the unelected, expensive state funded bodies which on close scrutiny often seem quite pointless.

Alex Salmond's SNP Scottish Government promised one which turned into a damp squib and yesterday's bonfire lit by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition was likened by Labour MP Tristram Hunt to a "clammy barbecue".

It has to be said that it did manage to convince those perennial enemies of the quango state, the Taxpayers Alliance.

But in reality it was unclear how many jobs would be lost and how much money would be saved.

As with many of these initiatives it was full of mergers and redefinitions instead of real abolitions.

The reason for this is that many of these bodies actually do important jobs which then need to be replaced.

So while quangos remain unfashionable, they often are necessary and have not been set up just to give jobs to politicians' friends.

But the effect on Scotland in yesterday's bonfire was even less hot than it was for most of the rest of the UK.

Of the 192 quangos abolished only 19 are thought to have any bearing on Scotland. Another eight of the 62 mergers affect Scotland.

It underlines how separate Scotland is through devolution, especially as the bulk of the quangos in yesterday's list related to education and health. But many of yesterday's reforms will raise questions about what the Scottish Government will do with the Scottish equivalents.

The best example of this is British Waterways Board. In England and Wales it is to become a trust, a body similar to the National Trust but for waterways not stately homes.

British Waterways Scotland was in effect very closely linked to the UK body and it was managed centrally with the Scottish Government appointing two board members to the main board.

Now the Scottish Government is left holding a separate body which it will have to support through its funds. A decision on whether to allow it to become a trust as well or even just join the UK body has been delayed.

The financial argument would suggest that it becomes a UK-wide trust, but the nationalist argument for an SNP government may not agree.

However, this is not a decision that can be delayed too long. British Waterways Scotland is responsible for some major pieces of water such as the Union Canal, which draw in thousands of tourists and its future will need to be decided on.