ABSTRACT
A major transformation in the way that local communities are governed. There has been a growth of ‘government by appointment’. There is an appointed world of local governance sitting alongside elected local government. Many appointed bodies are seen, from the local government perspective, as ‘domain intruders’ and are often viewed with resentment and suspicion. The increased importance and number of appointed bodies exercising governmental powers locally has led to a growing fragmentation of community governance. Training and Enterprise Councils are not councils in the sense that that term is normally understood, but companies limited by guarantee. Housing Action Trusts and Education Associations are both government-appointed bodies, rather than the independent bodies that their titles imply. Current arrangements for local government elections may well have their faults. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
