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Ministers are (and must be) ultimately in charge of a national HS not officials, no matter how much arms length distance you put between them. Ironically Nicholson's comments on possible loss of financial grip can be seen as an attempt to save Lansley from himself (and the Treasury) when things inevitably go awry. But you shouldn't do that publicly and expect to get a deal. If this is an end game, it should be settled by Ministers in a way that sends unambiguous messages to SHAs and remuneration committees that deals are over. Not that they could be reconciled with controlling public sector pensions costs in any case.