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5. THE 1996 REORGANIZATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN WALES: ISSUES, PROCESS AND UNEVEN OUTCOMES Simon Pemberton INTRODUCTION This paper focuses on the impact of the recent reorganization of local government in Wales, and in particular, its effects on policy formulation. It proceeds through an examination of the effects of reorganization of the education services in two contrasting localities, Ceredigion, a 'remote' rural area in west Wales, and Wrexham a more 'accessible', predominantly urbanized area, in north-east Wales. In Wales, the nature of local government has changed considerably in recent years, and is now but one element of the ensemble of institutions which constitute a system of 'local governance' (Painter and Goodwin, 1995). However, this is not to say that local government experienced relatively little change hitherto: since its inception in the early nineteenth century there have been continuous attempts to reorganize and revise its distinctive characteristics, with successive reforms differing in their intended effects (Alexander, 1982). In this respect, the contemporary reorganization of local government in Wales (which took place on 1 April 1996 and which focused largely upon structural change, but which also impacted upon the functional, financial and managerial dimensions of local government) is not particularly unique. Nevertheless, due to the considerable economic and social restructuring that has occurred over the last twenty-five years, and also the processes of political restructuring now taking place particularly the establishment of an elected Welsh Assembly the recent reorganization of local government in Wales is of particular political significance. This is especially so in relation to both the rationale(s) underlying the changes, and their intended (and subsequently, unintended) effects. To help put into context the changes which occurred with the reorganization process, reference to both regulationist and Neo-Gramscian