The government’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs is to axe 36 quangos as part of an efficiency savings drive, it was announced today.

Quangos including the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, the Agricultural Wages Board and the Inland Waterways Advisory Council are to be abolished as part of the cull. It forms a key part of Defra’s strategy to make savings on administrative costs, including saving on property.

The quangos constitute around a third of the department’s 90 arm’s length bodies, some of which are also being reformed. As part of its cuts plans, the government is also stopping public funding for its Sustainable Development Commission, which has an uncertain future if the Welsh and Scottish governments also withhold funding. The commission occupies a Defra-owned freehold at 55 Whitehall, London.

Defra says the axing of these bodies will not result in redundancies or the immediate vacation of office space.

All the necessary approvals to carry out these will be made via the Public Bodies Reform Bill, due for this autumn.

Environment secretary Caroline Spelman said: “This government is committed to being the greenest Government ever.  Reducing the deficit is priority for the government and all departments are playing their part in making efficiency savings.

“Together with Chris Huhne I am determined to play the lead role in driving the sustainability agenda across the whole of government and I am not willing to delegate this responsibility to an external body.

“The effective delivery of public services is essential and I am committed to increasing the transparency and accountability of Defra’s public bodies and to reducing their numbers and costs.

“Times have changed since many of these bodies were set up and much of what they do is now everyday Government business.”

Paul King, chief executive of the UK Green Building Council said: “While the need to make financial savings is understandable, this decision is concerning. Although the Committee on Climate Change has a critical role as watchdog and adviser on carbon emissions, the SDC had a much broader remit.

“All government policy needs to be assessed through a sustainable development lens, not just carbon emissions. This will now put more of an onus on the private and third sectors to carry out this role.”

Will Day, chair of the Sustainable Development Commission expressed disappointment at the  announcement.

He said: “We are deeply disappointed that the government has announced its intention to withdraw its funding from the Sustainable Development Commission.

“Our work has delivered efficiency savings totalling many times what the organisation has cost the government, and contributed towards much greater sustainability in government – both in the way it runs itself, and the decisions it makes about our wellbeing and our future.”

Quangos set to be abolished are:

• the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
• the Agricultural Wages Board
• the fifteen Agricultural Wages Committees
• the sixteen Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees
• the Committee on Agricultural Valuation
• the Inland Waterways Advisory Council
• the Commons Commissioners

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