Accountability and the non-elected local state: Calling training and enterprise councils to local account

This paper examines the emergence of local accountability as a key concern in the emergent tier of local governance in England, focusing on the case of Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Using a survey of TEC chief executives, and live detailed case studies, the research revealed a broad agreement among stakeholders that many TECs had improved their relationships with stakeholders over time, by operating more sensitively and broadening consultation. Nonetheless, it was also widely held that the national model on which TECs were established, and the increased importance being placed on national mechanisms of managerial accountability, severely limited the ability of TECs to develop a meaningful framework for local accountability. In this, TECs exhibit problems afflicting many if not all local quangos. Some specific examples of interesting and sometimes successful approaches to improving local communication and consultation are highlighted by the research, but nonetheless their impact on the operations of TECs to date has often been marginal, with many stakeholders seeing them as more of an exercise in public relations rather than public accountability.