151 BRIEF

  • PLSA launches stewardship guide

    A renewed guide to stewardship and voting has been launched by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA).

    The 2020 guide has been “extensively” updated to reflect the launch of a new stewardship code by the Financial Reporting Council which places greater reporting requirements on asset owners and managers.

    A PLSA’s website says: “The guidance also takes an in-depth look at key issues including voting on climate change, individual accountability of directors, voting in pooled funds and securities lending.”

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  • Burnham calls for Barnett-style funding for English regions

    Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has called for a new Barnett-style funding formula for the English regions.

    Burnham made the call during a speech at the “These Islands” conference in Newcastle at the end of last week.

    The much-debated Barnett Formula is the mechanism used by the Treasury to distribute funds to Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. It was originally viewed as “short-term” funding fix in the run up to reforms in 1979. It has faced widespread criticism, including a 2009 House of Lords report which said it should no longer be used for assessing increased funding levels.

    In a widely reported speech, Burnham said a new funding settlement is needed for the English regions and called for more devolution in England.

    “Devolution to place is unifying and creates a healthier politics and would result in a happier and politically healthier UK as a consequence,” Burnham said.

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  • New CEO and CIO for Local Pensions Partnership

    Local Pensions Partnership (LPP), the £18bn LGPS pool, has appointed a new chief executive and chief investment officer.

    Chris Rule moves up to CEO after a stint since May last year as interim CEO. Richard Tomlinson does similarly, taking on the CIO’s role following a period as deputy chief investment officer.

    Rule joined LPP in 2016 after working at the London Pensions Fund Authority (LPFA) as chief investment officer. He also previously worked as head of alternatives at SEB Investment Management.

    Tomlinson joined LPP in 2017 from Albourne Partners where he was head of portfolio advisory (EMEA). He previously worked as head of multi-strategy at OldMutual Asset Managers.

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  • Wandsworth makes £1.4m from multi-asset funds

    Wandsworth has made revenues £1.4m from three multi-asset funds since the council invested £50m in them in August 2018.

    A treasury report before the council this week said the funds were the Fidelity Multi-Asset Fund, the Artemis Monthly Distribution Fund and the JP Morgan Multi-AssetIncome Fund. They range from three to five years.

    The report said: “They are pooled funds with a diversified asset mix, predominantly of bonds and equities, but with smaller amounts of other asset categories such as property and infrastructure.”

    Treasury officers at the council expect rates for short-term investments to fall in the coming year, though to the end of December 2019 it managed an average rate of 1.73%. It said it faces rates for less than one year of 0.98%, on average, compared to 1.05% this time last year.

    It said opportunities for two-year investments have been limited at decent rates though it has managed to place £25m.

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  • Brothwood joins LGPS Advisory Board

    Rachel Brothwood, director of pensions at the West Midlands Pension Fund, has been elected the practitioner representative on the LGPS Advisory Board.

    Brothwood take over from Nicola Mark, head of the Norfolk Pension Fund.

    Councillor Roger Phillips, chairman of the Advisory Board, said: “Stepping into Nicola’s shoes was never going to be an easy task but Rachel joins the board with a wealth of knowledge and experience of the scheme and I know that she will continue to represent scheme practitioners to the same high standard enjoyed by the Board in recent years.”

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  • Scotland grapples with outstanding rates appeals worth £2.5bn

    Business rates worth £2.5bn remain under appeal in Scotland, amounting to more than 17,000 separate cases.

    According to Scotland’s chief statistician 56, 526 appeals have so far been resolved since the 2017 revaluations, representing £2.9bn in rates. Around 70% of the appeals resolved saw no change in rateable value.

    In all, local government in Scotland saw 73,892 appeals following the revelation, worth around £5.4bn in rates. Appeal resolutions so far has seen a £199m decrease in rate revenue.

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  • Improved Better Care Fund increase drives rise in care fee payments

    Additional funding through the Improved Better Care Fund has helped more than 90% of councils increase fees paid to external care providers, according to analysis by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

    A survey of councils by the department found that on average, local authorities reported that home care fee rates would increase by 4.3% while age 65+ residential and nursing home fee rates would rise by 4.9% and 4.7% respectively when compared to 2018- 19.

    The department said the rises compare with a 4.9% April 2019 increase in the National Living Wage from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour, and 1.7% CPIH inflation in the 12 months to September 2019.

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    • 20 Feb, 2020

    Planning ‘not a barrier’ to housebuilding

    Developers have failed to build four out of ten homes approved by councils over the past decade, according to the Local Government Association.

    Analysis by the LGA showed that 2,564,600 homes have been granted planning permission by councils since 2009/10 while only 1,530,680 have been completed.

    It said the backlog of unbuilt homes shows the planning system is not a barrier to housebuilding.

    As part of its submission to the Treasury ahead of next month’s Budget, the LGA is calling for the government to reform Right to Buy, by allowing councils to keep all of the receipts of homes sold replace them, and to have the flexibility to set discounts locally.

    David Renard, LGA housing spokesman, said: “If we are to solve our housing shortage, councils need to be able to get building again and resume their role as major builders of affordable homes.”

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  • Forbes appointed as Scottish finance secretary

    Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has appointed Kate Forbes as the Scottish government’s cabinet secretary for finance following the resignation of Derek Mackay.

    Forbes has been promoted from her previous role as Scottish minister for public finance and digital.

    Fiona Hyslop has been moved from her job as external affairs secretary to take responsibility for the economy as cabinet secretary for economy, fair work and culture.

    Sturgeon said: “These appointments bring new talent into government and deliver a real focus, not only on driving forward our economy, but also on addressing the challenges of Brexit, increasing our population and ending Scotland’s contribution to the climate crisis.”

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  • Hackney on course to meet carbon divestment target

    London Borough of Hackney’s pension fund has reduced its exposure to carbon reserves by a third since 2016, according to a report to its special pensions committee.

    The results show that the cut carbon investments by 31.4% between July 2016 and June 2019, which the council said means the fund is well over halfway to its target of 50% over six years.

    The report said: “The reduction is fully compatible with the fund ‘s wider investment strategy and has been achieved with no negative impact on performance; the fund’s performance has improved relative to its peer group (other local authority pension funds) over the three year period since the introduction of the target.”

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