Past experience is that such separate entities can be opportunities for Labour councillors to "empire build". Thus we have the ludicrous situation of the Council and Licensing Board (both made up of councillors) publicly disagreeing and writing strong letters to each other over issues such as lap-dancing and plastic bottles. Almost inevitably a separate body will develop its own agenda which might not include equal pay with Council staff, social inclusion, etc.

So all costs and benefits (not just financial ones) of this proposal must be closely examined before any decision is made.

It is a sad day when central government has created a situation whereby a new trust has to be created in order for public funds to be rearranged like this. If the trust wins on VAT, then HM Revenues & Customs loses, so the public purse is no better or worse off. The only real winners in the long run will be the lawyers!