The number of arm's length bodies (ALBs) across the UK is on the rise – despite government attempts to slash bureaucracies through its ‘bonfire of the quangos', a new report has revealed.

A Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) think-tank study, published on 21 March, indicates that while ministers have cut the number of central government quangos – quasi-autonomous non-governmental departments – the volume of local ALBs has increased.