Sharpening the commercial edge
The case for well-managed council commercial activity is one that needs to be defended if we want a mature and sustainable local state, argues Jonathan Werran.
Local government pension fund makes divestment threat
02/06/2021 Scotland’s largest local government pension fund will drop investments in fossil fuel firms that fail to act on the climate emergency. |
Pension fund joins ‘national conversation’ on retirement planning
25/05/2021 West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF) has become the first fund in the Local Government Pension Scheme to join an initiative that’s starting a ‘national conversation’ about retirement planning. |
Local authority pension group’s fund secures £50m investment
28/04/2021 A fund set up by pension groups in London, including Local Pensions Partnership Investments, to invest in real estate has secured a £50m investment bringing its total capital to £150m. |
Local government pension fund to become net zero investor
10/03/2021 The Avon Pension Fund has committed to becoming a net zero investor by 2050 or earlier. |
Council pension funds invest nearly £10bn in fossil fuels
23/02/2021 Nearly £10bn of local government pension funds are still invested in fossil fuels, new research has uncovered. |
Inquiry launched into role of local authority pension funds in fighting climate change
20/01/2021 A parliamentary group has launched an inquiry into how institutional investors such as local authority pension funds can help drive a ‘just transition’ to a net zero economy. |
Council pension group raises concerns over Resolution Copper Project
06/01/2021 Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has raised concerns following progress on the Resolution Copper Project in Arizona. |
Local government pension fund achieves 'gold standard' for administration
08/12/2020 The West Midlands Pension Fund has become the first local government pension scheme in England and Wales to achieve accreditation from the Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA). |
The new cap on Public Sector Exit Payments
03/12/2020 Charles Pallot outlines the new Restrictions on Public Sector Exit Payments for local authorities and the clash with LGPS strain payments. |
Public sector exit cap signed into law
15/10/2020 The £95,000 cap on public sector exit payments was signed into law last night and will come into force on November 4. |
Failure to deliver pension credit costing care system £4bn a year
14/09/2020 Failure to deliver pension credit to a million older people who are entitled to it is costing the health and social care system £4bn a year, report reveals. |
Think tank proposes pension-style social care system
01/09/2020 A pension-style model is the most effective way of fixing the social care crisis, a new report from a think tank has argued. |
Local authority pension fund invests £150m in rental housing
25/08/2020 An investment manager for local authority pension funds has invested £150m in private rental housing provider Get Living. |
Pension ‘superfunds’ could aid post-Covid recovery, think tank says
15/06/2020 Pension ‘superfunds’ should be created to invest in infrastructure as part of Britain’s post-Covid recovery, a think tank has argued. |
Government backs merger of two council pension funds
14/05/2020 The Government has given the go-ahead to merge two local government pension funds. |
Legal & General commits £100m pension money for affordable housing
19/02/2020 Insurance giant Legal & General has provided £100m of long term debt financing to its affordable housing business. |
Barnet Council to appoint new pension fund
12/02/2020 Barnet Council’s policy and resources committee are set to approve the appointment of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund to administer its pension scheme. |
LGPS: Unlocking infrastructure
10/01/2020 Pension funds can play an important role backing useful projects such as railway infrastructure, water companies and green energy. Mark Whitehead met a man whose organisation invests local government pensions constructively. |
Council makes 'significant' progress on its pension scheme
25/10/2019 A new report has found the London Borough of Barnet has made significant progress in the way it administers its pension fund since an improvement notice was issued in July. |
Council pension scheme invests in green fund
11/10/2019 A council pension scheme has become one of the first to invest in a new ‘green’ fund which supports low carbon technology. |
Launch of first pooled LGPS property fund
10/10/2019 A new fund that pools the property assets of three public sector pension schemes has been launched. |
Council pension fund calls on housebuilders to improve transparency
04/09/2019 One of the biggest local government pension funds has called on housebuilding companies to improve the way they report environmental, social and governance issues. |
IDS think tank calls for raise in pension age to 75
19/08/2019 The state pension age should be increased to 75 in order to boost the economy by £182bn, says a centre-right think tank which is close to the Government. |
‘Rethink’ changes to local government pension scheme, Unison warns
09/08/2019 Plans to allow higher and further education employers to opt out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) could cause serious cash flow problems for funds, a trade union has warned. |
Hedging the currency risk
02/07/2019 Following the recent news that Croydon Council is considering hedging the currency risk in its pension fund, Jackie Bowie offers her view on optimal strategies to achieve the best outcome. |
Union hits out over changes to LGPS for non-teaching staff
06/06/2019 A trade union has blasted government proposals to allow universities and colleges in England to opt out of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for new non-teaching staff. |
Council pension fund forum welcomes Ryanair's chair stepping down
05/02/2019 The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has welcomed the announcement that the chair of Ryanair, David Bonderman, is stepping down from the role. |
LGA faces financial headache
25/01/2019 Smith Square has acknowledged the financial challenges it faces as it freezes subscriptions while grappling with declining Government grants and a pension scheme deficit. |
Outsourced council workers to have pensions protected
10/01/2019 Local government staff who have had their roles outsourced will receive increased pensions protections under new proposals published today. |
‘Tweaking’ wealth taxes could raise £7bn a year, think tank says
03/01/2019 Reforming Britain’s wealth taxes could help the Government raise £7bn a year by 2022-23 to help cover the cost of public services, a think tank has argued. |
Council pension funds at financial risk from climate change, report warns
09/11/2018 Local Government Pension Funds (LGPFs) are failing to protect themselves from the financial risk posed by climate change, a new report has warned today. |
Council pension fund forum calls for Ryanair chair to step down
29/10/2018 An association of council pension funds has called for the replacement of Ryanair’s chair and has urged Michael O’Leary to set out his succession plans. |
Council employee convicted of £1m pension fund fraud
16/10/2018 A former Westminster City Council employee has been convicted for defrauding the council pension fund of nearly £1m. |
Local authority pension partners commits further £550m to infrastructure fund
09/10/2018 The local authority pension partners of GLIL Infrastructure LLP have doubled their pledge to the infrastructure fund, bringing the total they have invested to more than £1.8bn. |
Labour warn of £2.7bn NHS cuts due to pension bungle
01/10/2018 The Government is planning to make £2.7bn of further cuts to the NHS before next election because of a bungle over pensions, according to the Labour Party. |
Local government pension scheme makes 'significant progress'
28/09/2018 The scheme that pays the pensions of local government workers is in a strong financial position and has made 'significant progress', according to a review. |
Glasgow council announces £20m pension fund investment
07/09/2018 Glasgow is aiming to attract high-tech American companies to the city with a £20m investment from the pension fund for council staff. |
Council pension funds invest £9bn in fracking industry
03/09/2018 More than £9bn is being invested in the fracking indistry by council pension funds, new figures have revealed today. |
Recruitment problems faced by half of council pensions funds
07/08/2018 Staff recruitment, retention and resourcing are the three greatest challenges facing Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds, according to new research. |
£46bn pension fund appoints new chairman
29/03/2018 The Northern Pool, one of the country’s largest investment funds, has appointed a new chair after the last chairman unexpectedly died at Christmas. |
‘Precarious’ work could put council pension investments at risk
19/03/2018 Investors should be wary of investing pension funds into companies that use precarious work practices, a new report has warned. |
Local Pensions Partnership launches new £320m fund
07/03/2018 The Local Pensions Partnership (LPP) today launched its first fund dedicated to investing in fixed income as an asset class. |
London council approves £150m low-carbon pension investment
26/01/2018 Southwark Council has agreed to move £150m of its pension fund into a low-carbon investment. |
Government pledges to protect public services following collapse of Carillion
15/01/2018 One of the country’s biggest construction and facilities management companies, Carillion, has gone into liquidation after struggling for the last few months. |
Council pension schemes purchase shares in Anglian Water
19/12/2017 Five council pension schemes have acquired, along with a separate company, a 15% share in Anglian Water (AWG). |
Britain’s record on fighting poverty ‘at risk’
04/12/2017 Britain’s record on tackling poverty is 'at risk of unravelling', campaigners have warned. |
Berkshire Pension Fund to pool assets with LPP
17/11/2017 The Berkshire Pension Fund has agreed to join Local Pensions Partnership (LPP) in order to pool assets and manage its liabilities. |
Council pension funds benefit from climate change investment policy framework
13/11/2017 The first climate change investment policy framework has been launched for local government pension funds. |
Councils investing £16bn of pensions into fossil fuels
09/11/2017 More than £16bn of council pension funds have been invested into fossil fuel companies, new research has revealed. |
Council pension partnership launches £1.3bn Credit Fund
05/10/2017 A £1.3bn Credit Fund has been launched by Local Pensions Partnership (LPP) to offer investors cost-effective exposure to diverse sources of return. |
Charities at ‘risk of collapse’ due to unaffordable LGPS debt
26/09/2017 Charities should be allowed to exit the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) to stop them building up unaffordable debt, according to a new report. |
Benefit pension funds insurer invests £60m in housing association
19/09/2017 A specialist insurer of benefit pension funds has invested £60m into a housing association which controls thousands of properties across the south west. |
Council pension funds call for review of working conditions at Sports Direct
07/09/2017 There needs to be an independent review of worker rights and corporate governance at Sports Direct, insist local authority pension fund representatives. |
Raising pension ages leaves women worse off
02/08/2017 Changes to the state pension age have left women aged between 60 and 62 years old worse off by an average of £32 a week, according to a new report. |
Union commits to moving council pension schemes away from fossil fuels
23/06/2017 Local Government Pension Schemes should be divested from fossil fuels within five years, Unison has argued today. |
Attempt to restrict council pension boycotts is ruled 'unlawful'
23/06/2017 A court ruled yesterday the Government’s attempt to prevent councils boycotting Israel through their pension schemes is ‘unlawful’. |
Campaigners take council pension boycott to high court
14/06/2017 Campaigners are challenging a government ban on council pension schemes withdrawing investment from companies associated with Israel. |
Local authority pension funds ‘ratcheting up’ climate change engagement
06/06/2017 Local authority pension funds are going to ‘ratchet up’ their efforts to encourage companies to be more aware of climate change and how it will impact the value of their stocks. |
Local government pension assets in 'good health'
01/06/2017 The asset side of local government pension schemes’ (LGPS) balance sheets is in good health, according to the latest performance analytics data. |
Council pension deficit falls by £9.2bn since 2013
17/05/2017 The funding deficit of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) has fallen to £37bn from £47bn in three years, according to its latest valuation. |
Campaigners to unleash ‘fossil fuel monsters’ on London councils
11/05/2017 Climate campaigners are planning to march on London this Saturday with ‘fossil fuel monsters’ in order to urge the capital’s borough’s to divest from the polluting industry. |
Local government pension deficit falls to £35bn
24/03/2017 The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) deficit has fallen to half the level previously expected - going down to around £35bn - new figures have revealed. |
Activists to challenge council pension boycott restrictions in High Court
16/03/2017 Pro-Palestine campaigners have been granted permission to take the Government to the High Court over law preventing councils from boycotting companies involved in Israel’s human rights violations. |
Scottish council pensions investing £1.7bn in fossil fuels
13/03/2017 Scottish council pension funds have been urged to invest more in sustainable energy and housing projects. |
MPs urged to examine local government pension scheme
02/03/2017 The chair of a leading pensions body has called for MPs to examine the local government scheme. |
Health and social care tops preferred pension investment priorities
16/02/2017 Nearly half of employees want their pension invested in areas such as health, social care and housing, a new survey has revealed. |
Erroneous pension payments
31/01/2017 Karen Pritchard explains why deceased pension fraud is costing local government millions of pounds every year. |
The shifting sands of local government pensions schemes
25/01/2017 Rob Whiteman looks at the challenges ahead for local government pension schemes as government reforms take shape. |
Sandwell backs ‘fairer’ pension motion for women born in the 1950s
20/01/2017 Sandwell councillors have backed a motion calling for a fairer deal for women born in the 1950s who have been affected by an increase in the state pension age. |
Reclassifying council pension funds would put infrastructure spend ‘at risk’
04/01/2017 The proposed reclassification of local authority pension funds as retail investors would put infrastructure investment at risk, pension experts have warned today. |
Pro-Palestinian activists take Government to court over pension boycott restrictions
19/12/2016 Pro-Palestinian campaigners are taking the Government to court over law preventing local authorities from boycotting companies involved in Israel’s human rights violations. |
Mayor urged to divest council pension funds from fossil fuels industries
08/12/2016 The mayor of London has been urged to divest all council pension funds away from fossil-fuel industries by the London Assembly. |
Council pension funds launch £5bn Global Equity Fund
02/11/2016 The Lancashire County Pension Fund (LCPF) and London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) have pooled their assets to launch a £5bn Global Equity Fund. |
Whitehall should not interfere with council pensions, union warns
25/10/2016 Ministers must stop interfering in council pensions, union warns as MPs debate the future of the local government pension scheme (LGPS). |
Welsh Local Government Pension Schemes to pool assets worth £13bn
17/10/2016 All eight of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds in Wales have called on central government to enable them to pool investments worth a total of £13bn. |
Membership of council pension funds ‘on the rise’
13/10/2016 Local Authority Pension Funds (LGPS) are continuing to grow both their assets and fund membership, new research reveals. |
London council to divest pension from fossil fuels
26/09/2016 Waltham Forest Council has become the first local authority in the UK to divert its pension fund from all fossil fuels. |
Regulators ‘misstating’ Whitehall’s legal position, pension chiefs say
02/09/2016 Council pensions chiefs have accused financial regulators of misstating the Government's position on a complex issue of company law. |
Council pension fund supports working practices review of Sports Direct
24/08/2016 A local government pensions body has backed calls for a review into the working practices at Sports Direct. |
Councils urged to help people plan to budget for future care costs
23/08/2016 Three out of five people who have taken money out of their pension savings have not planned for how they will meet future care costs, a new survey has revealed. |
Councils urged to invest pension funds in new housing
05/08/2016 Local authorities should invest pension funds into Local Housing Development Funds in order to deliver new homes, according to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). |
Petition calling for debate on pension funds attracts 100,000 signatures
22/07/2016 Proposals to pool local government pension funds to invest in infrastructure have prompted 100,000 people to sign a petition calling for a parliamentary debate. |
New LGPS parliamentary group to develop British wealth funds
08/07/2016 A new cross-party parliamentary group has been set up to discuss the role local authority pensions can play in the development of British wealth funds. |
Warning Brexit could devalue council pension schemes
27/06/2016 The value of the Local Government Pension Scheme could fall as a result of last week’s decision to exit the European Union, councils leaders have warned. |
Council pension fund to make £30m infrastructure investment
08/06/2016 The pension fund of thousands of council workers in the West of Scotland is to be invested into key infrastructure projects. |
Employers joining LGPS 'underestimate' obligations
18/05/2016 The number of organisations signed up to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) has rocketed, but experts have warned that many underestimate the obligations involved. |
Scottish pension fund rated a world leader in tackling global warming
11/05/2016 A council pension fund in Scotland has been rated one of the best in the world for addressing climate change. |
Union calls for law change to protect council pension fund decisions
11/05/2016 The law should be amended to include a European directive that ensures only councils decide where they invest their pension funds, a trade union has said. |
Council pension fund decisions will remain with sector says Government
20/04/2016 Councils will not be forced to invest their pension funds into infrastructure schemes, the Government has confirmed. |
Council pension funds get go-ahead to pool assets
11/04/2016 Two local government pension schemes are due to join forces after they got approval to pool their assets by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). |
Petition calls for debate on reforms to council pension schemes
05/04/2016 A petition calling for a parliamentary debate on plans to force local government pension funds to invest money in infrastructure projects has been signed by more than 12,000 people. |
Extra costs force councils to ‘crunch point’
31/03/2016 Extra costs, resulting from a double whammy of changes, are forcing councils towards ‘crunch point,’ council chief executives have warned. |
Pension reforms will see '£650m stealth cut' to public services
21/03/2016 Changes to public sector pensions, announced in last week's Budget, will see hundreds of millions cut from front line public services, according to research from the Liberal Democrats. |
Budget 2016: Public sector pensions will remain 'sustainable', claims chancellor
16/03/2016 The chancellor pledged today to ensure public sector pensions remain 'sustainable'. |
Council pensions invest £150m into UK windfarm
14/03/2016 A joint venture set up between two local government pension schemes is to invest £150m into a South Lanarkshire windfarm. |
Pension scheme reforms to help drive down costs
17/02/2016 Government proposals to reform the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) will help drive down costs, achieve better investment outcomes and stimulate new infrastructure investment, says a new report from BNY Mellon. |
Pension funds must not be gambled on Government projects, Unison warns
28/01/2016 The Government should not be able to ‘dictate’ how money from local government pension funds is invested, union leaders have warned. |
Creating an ideal partnership
20/01/2016 Pooling public sector pension funds is the way forward for investment in infrastructure argues Sir Merrick Cockell, but there needs to be an efficient mechanism in place to match projects with sponsors. |
Inflation-proofing of pensions could cost councils £1bn warns firm
12/01/2016 Reforms to state pensions could cost local authorities and their contractors up to £1bn due to a ‘quirk of legislation', consulting firm Mercer is warning. |
Council pension scheme must be replaced, says think tank
11/01/2016 A think tank has warned the Local Government Pension Scheme will soon reach crisis point and should be replaced. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
