NHS Foundation Trusts
They were started by  Alan Milburn in 2002. The plan was that all the  NHS trusts should become Foundation Trusts and run independently.  This was an important part of the plan to set up a market system in the NHS which was the main idea of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.  Foundation trusts had members - a bit like shareholders - and the members elected a council of governors - a bit like company directors.  In 2014 a report said that on the whole after 10 years, "Foundation Trusts [had]... not deepened in terms of democratic practice and participation".