This report focuses on the issue of democratic accountability. Recent legislation has drastically curtailed the roles and influences of LEAs, and various powers previously held by LEAs have been dispersed to schools, central government and quangos. The authors explore the emergence of new forms of school/LEA relationship and of new organisational cultures and practices within LEAs through case studies of four LEAs of different size, political control, location and history. They also suggest that in the current legislative framework the meaning and practice of such accountability are increasingly diverse, elusive and unclear, and point to a regeneration of the debate about the future of local democratic accountability.