Recommendation 37

Furthermore, the Commission has not yet set out its reason for suggesting the abolition of the Sponsor Body.99 The Sponsor Body had set out indicative cost and time estimates for the work, and then heard about plans to abolish it – we asked if this was a case of ‘shooting the messenger’ as the Commission did not want to hear the bad news. The Sponsor Body said “it can feel like that a little, yes”.100 In its written evidence, the House of Commons Trade Union Side noted that “Creating an arm’s length sponsor body was intended to allow the very objectivity and independence that has apparently now led to its own abolition”.101