Modernising local government: The impact of new political arrangements on chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales

This paper is concerned with the effects of new forms of executive government on local authority chief officers for leisure and recreation in Wales. Based on a new institutionalist approach to research (Lowndes, 2002), survey and interview data were gathered during 2004-05. There are four principal findings: (i) effects of changes to the officer structure; (ii) changing emphasis between the centre and services; (iii) changing roles for chief officers; and (iv) impact and changes as a result of the new arrangements. Political modernisation of local government and the narratives of elite actors are highlighted and theoretical implications are advanced in conceptual models.