Southend development, Essex cloud investment, Norfolk hedging costs, East Lindsey loan…
0Lewis counterattacks over active management
Local government minister Brandon Lewis has launched a defence of the government’s under-fire consultation on whether local government pension funds should be compelled to move away from active management of funds. Speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds local authority conference, Lewis said that if all active funds were outperforming passive investments then there would not be an LGPS deficit. But he added that the government was keen to learn lessons from councils whose actively managed funds had performed well.
Southend to develop airport site
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council is seeking a partner to develop a 21ha site which it owns next to the town’s airport. The council wants to create a business park on the land, which lies in the administrative boundary of Rochford District Council. The two councils have already submitted a joint planning document for independent examination by a planning inspector.
Essex takes financial management into the cloud
Essex County Council (ECC) has appointed ICT supplier, Advanced Computer Software Group to host its financial management system. The company has signed a two year contract to host the Council’s financial data in the ‘cloud’, allowing information to be securely accessed from any connected computers at the same time. The contract extends across the council and partner organisations, including Essex Cares and the Essex Pension Fund.
Norfolk stung by contract termination costs
Norfolk County Council has terminated its contract with waste management firm Cory Wheelabrator – at a cost of £33m, £3.4 m higher than projected. The extra cost comes from a “hedging” arrangement which had been estimated at £8.4m, but turned out to be £11.8m due to currency and interest rate changes. George Nobbs, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “This final figure for the ‘hedging’ element of the contract is more than we would have hoped it would be, but it has to be found, and will be found.”
Council agrees housing association loan
East Lindsey Council in Lincolnshire agreed a £5m loan to housing association New Linx Housing Trust, a subsidiary of Waterloo Housing Group. The council will negotiate the interest rate to be charged, but a council document said that a market rate of 3.85% would earn it £550,000 over the term. The money will be provided through internal borrowing in the council, and would be secured against property assets owned by the association.
First call-offs made from LGPS framework
The first contracts have been awarded under the new National LGPS Framework for Global Custody Services. The Norfolk, Suffolk and Hackney pension funds conducted a joint call-off exercise and appointed HSBC Securities to provide custody from October of this year. The three funds have combined assets of £5.2bn and estimate savings of £1.25m over the course of the five year contract, plus £250,000 savings in procurement costs.
Public sector ‘lacks online purchasing confidence’
Public sector buyers lack confidence in online purchasing methods, according to new research. A survey by local government procurement coalition YPO found that almost three out of four (73%) have bought services such as energy and insurance online in their home life, whereas only one in twenty (5%) have bought services via a website as part of their job. The main barriers to online purchases discovered were concerns around compliance, online payment and audit trails, with one in six (15%) saying they needed to provide an easily auditable paper trail and don’t feel confident online purchases will provide this.
