The National Audit Office has ridden to the defence of threatened quango’s, including the UK Film Council, after culture secretary Jeremy Hunt announced his intent cut back on the number of arms length governmental bodies.

14 public bodies are set to disappear or merge under the proposals in order to plug a regular as clockwork overspend at the Department of Culture Media and Sport of around £100m per annum.

It is argued by Hunt that the Film Council’s annual £3m administration bill would be better spent on making films directly.

With the Council funded King’s Speech winning Oscar’s plaudits however the NAO averred that DCMS had failed to approach the affected bodies to undertake a “financial analysis of the costs and benefits of the decision,” before wielding the axe.

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: “Some decisions have been made based on insufficient financial information and analysis, as exemplified by the decisions to merge and close some arm's-length bodies. This can leave organisations exposed and unprepared for the future and lead to high overall costs or the displacement of costs elsewhere.”