With the ongoing growth and complexity of local government demand for service improvement, combined with financial sustainability, it still seems a long time ago since the 2011 Localism Act landed to support the extension of trading powers for local authorities.

There have been a plethora of new approaches mirroring, in part, private sector practice, whether it's a wholly-owned company, joint venture or social enterprise, which all have varying constitutional arrangements, there are new and unaccustomed skills and experience required to navigate the commercial space in between councils and effective service delivery.