Independent Scotland 'would have to create 200 new public bodies' More than 200 organisations from the Ministry of Defence to the Met Office may need to be replaced by separate bodies if Scotland becomes independent, the UK Government has claimed. Scotland Office Minister David Mundell compiled a list of public bodies ranging from government departments to the British Hallmarking Council that would no longer have jurisdiction. The Scottish Government said the list illustrated the "cluttered and inefficient" nature of the public sector in the UK and insisted some of the bodies could be incorporated into existing Scottish organisations. Mr Mundell said: "This list clearly illustrates the range of ways in which the UK delivers for Scotland and all other parts of the UK. I am sure it will be an eye-opener for some just how large and complex a task it would be to replicate many of the services and bodies that we have working for us as part of the UK today. This list is a detailed reminder of the many changes in every walk of life that Scotland would have to deal with under independence. This is one of the many changes independence would bring and it is clearly a challenge for the Scottish Government to outline what it would recreate and at what cost to the taxpayer. The UK Government considered the figure of 200 organisations to be a conservative estimate, given that other important organisations, like the Bank of England, do not feature on the list due to the technical definition of what constitutes a public body. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The list published today by the UK Government shows just how cluttered and inefficient the UK public sector landscape is. Devolved public bodies will shortly reduce to 113, representing a 43% decrease from a baseline of 199 in 2007. It would be wrong to suggest that Scotland would need to replicate many of the bodies on the list such as Public Health England, the British Library or the Wilton Park Conference Centre, and the functions of many other UK bodies could be integrated into existing Scottish bodies. And for some of the bodies named in this list, Scotland also already has its own equivalent national bodies. For example, we have our own national sporting and tourism authorities. An independent Scotland will also be entitled to inherit its fair share of existing UK assets.