News story

National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts to be reconstituted as a charity and charitable trust

A consultation on the Government’s proposal concluded on 29 November 2011 and the Government’s response to the consultation has been published…

From:
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
Published
19 January 2012
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

A consultation on the Government’s proposal concluded on 29 November 2011 and the Government’s response to the consultation has been published today. The full response is available at www.bis.gov.uk/consultations.

The estimated date for the transition is April 2012.

Notes to editors:

  1. The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) is an executive non-departmental public body (NDPB). NESTA’s remit is to support and promote talent, innovation and creativity in the fields of science, technology and the arts. www.nesta.org.uk

  2. NESTA’s future was considered as part of the Government’s public bodies reform programme and the commitment to “reduce the number and cost of quangos”. The intention to change NESTA’s status was included in an announcement by Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, on 14 October 2010.

  3. On 18 October 2011, Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, announced a six week consultation on the proposal to abolish NESTA as a NDPB and reconstitute it as an independent charity and separate charitable trust. The majority of responses to the consultation supported our proposal that NESTA does not need to be part of the public sector and 80% of the responses concurred with our preferred policy option to reconstitute NESTA as an independent charity and trust.

  4. Once the statutory instrument comes into force, NESTA will be abolished as an NDPB. At the same time, a transfer scheme will be made which will transfer all property, rights and liabilities of NESTA relating to the National Lottery endowment to the new charitable trust, as well as all other property, rights and liabilities and employees relating to NESTA to the charity limited by guarantee as its sole trustee.

  5. A full impact assessment can be found at http://www.ialibrary.bis.gov.uk/

  6. BIS’s online newsroom contains the latest press notices, speeches, as well as video and images for download. It also features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See [http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom](http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom) for more information.

Notes to Editors

Contact Information

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Division COI Phone

Fax

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Email NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk

Published 19 January 2012