Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

What a way to waste money.

They are non-elected and non-accountable - they're quangos!

The Local Government Association (LGA) has produced a report showing that we have about 790 quangos; they employed more than 92,500 staff, had a total annual expenditure of of nearly £43 billion (as at March 2008) and yet they aren't accountable to local voters.

The LGA is campaigning for more accountability and greater value for money including rolling back the quango state and giving voters more influence over how money gets spent.

Many people don't realise that only a tiny proportion of public money spent is actually under the control of locally-elected people.