News Roundup: Rates appeals rocket, Pension scheme grows by £1bn, London Society’s new leader & payment by results fail

Rates appeals rocket
The Valuation Office Agency has seen a surge in business rate appeals following chancellor George Osborne’s announcement that changes can only be backdated to 1 April 2010. The figures show that 22% of 898,000 challenges against the 2010 ratings were lodged between January and March 2015. Earlier this month, the VOA reiterated its pledge to deal with 95% of outstanding appeals by next month.

Pension fund reports 15% returns and grows by £1bn
West Midlands Pension Fund has reported a return of 15.1% for the past year after selling its commodities and hedge fund portfolios. Overall, the scheme’s size grew by more than a billion pounds from £10.1bn to £11.4bn after strong investment returns and inflows from scheme members. The scheme has produced annualised returns of 10.2% over three years and 7.9% over 10.

Government ‘has no grip’ on payments-by-result
The government has no evidence that payment-by-results schemes, such as the Troubled Families initiative are working, according to the National Audit Office. A report by the spending watchdog found that neither the Cabinet Office nor the Treasury are monitoring how outcome based payment schemes are working. The NAO estimated that £15bn of public money is now being spent through the model across different departments.

Shropshire company faces bleak future
A standalone company established by Shropshire Council to provide services and create income for the authority may not make a profit in the next three years. A business plan for the company, IP&E, does not assume any profit will be made, according to a council report. Officers said: “Reduced levels of funding for commissioned council work means that the company must seek alternative external sources of income, within permitted Teckal guidelines, to ensure that the company remains profitable and a going concern.” The company made a loss of £114,000 in its first year of operations.

Buss takes the helm in London
Chris Buss has taken over as president of the London Society of Treasurers. Buss, director of finance at London Borough of Wandsworth, takes over from Mike O’Donnell , director of finance at London Borough of Camden. Ian O’Donnell, from London Borough of Ealing, takes over as vice president.

Bromley slammed over property investment
Unions have criticised Bromley for spending £10.2m from budget underspends on investment in commercial property. Unite said that the council should not be “gambling” with the cash at the same time as causing redundancies among council staff by privatising services. Earlier this month, the council’s park service was transferred to a private firm, which immediately announced job losses.

LGA chief calls for funding changes
Gary Porter, incoming chairman of the Local Government Association, has called for changes in the formula for distributing central government grant. Under the present regime, the most deprived areas have suffered some of the largest cuts to grants. However, Gary Porter said that he did not advocate a return to a purely needs-based mechanism.