Twelve action zones are up and running across England and 13 more will be launched in the New Year. In January, ministers are expected to announce guidelines for bids to run the next batch of education "action zones", which are intended to raise standards of education.

It is understood they will encourage parents, teachers and other community groups to make bids independent of local education authorities.

Last year, ministers were attacked by criticics who said that although private business was heavily involved in many action zones, most were run - as most schools still are - by local education authorities.

After the first round of bids, ministers made it clear that parents and other community groups who wanted to initiate action zones independently of their local councils would receive their full backing.

'Shadowy'

The zones have the freedom to experiment, with the aim of raising standards, for instance by varying the National Curriculum and teachers' pay and conditions.

The LGA Education Chairman, Graham Lane, said "shadowy figures" in government were seeking to minimise the role of local authorities.

"We aren't going to have it," he said. They want to take away the democratic right of people to run their own affairs. It is a fundamental blow against local democracy.

"This is public money they are talking about. We need public accountability.

"This idea that groups of parents can come together and decide they want to run a school on their own is laughable and fundamentally flawed.

"We will be totally opposed to any individual group of people initiating an action zone. The initiative must come from local government, working with all other groups in the community."

A year ago, local government leaders were outraged when government advisers first suggested that ministers wanted to see some zones controlled by private business.