News-in-Brief

The Merseyside Pension Fund has shifted its strategic asset allocation towards equities and confirmed a key leadership appointment at its latest Pension Committee meeting.

Surrey Pension Fund has confirmed the appointment of a key LGPS figure as its independent person, in line with the new requirements set out

Investors led by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) and CCLA have written to the chairs of FTSE100 companies to ask for a

Somerset Council will seek further exceptional financial for 2026/27, with a potential section 114 risk, if the council does not approve a balanced budget

Barnsley Council has projected that its budget gap could rise to £34m if cost pressures go unmitigated, a corporate finance report showed.  There is

Counties and rural unitaries are set to spend an additional £7bn on services by 2029, bringing them under “severe financial pressure”, the government has

East Hertfordshire Council has identified a £1.4m savings requirement due to a forecasted funding gap over the next five years, a medium-term financial plan

Staffordshire Moorlands held £14.8m in cash investments at the end of the first quarter of 2026/27, a financial report showed.  External borrowing stood at

East Herts Council has put aside reserves of over £1.6m to help fund the transition to unitary governance in Hertfordshire despite ministers’ decision to

Watford Borough Council is forecasting a net revenue underspend of £0.244m – but only if a revision to its minimum revenue provision (MRP) calculation

Sutton Council is facing a Dedicated Schools Grant overspend of £13.8m this year, driving a cumulative year-end deficit of £35.28m. The latest council reports

London will make less than half as much progress against its social housing waiting list as rural areas under the government's £39bn Social and

The London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) has increased its exposure to emerging markets amid strong performance. The £1.2bn Redbridge Pension Fund increased its investments

A London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) partner fund has agreed to cut its equity allocation to in favour of greater investments in fixed income

Border to Coast has hired a portfolio manager to join its growing local investment team. The £120bn pool has hired Luke Baker as portfolio

Fiscal and wider devolution will only work if the government “confronts the financial crisis facing councils and local services”, the Local Government Association has

Kent County Council has projected a £21.4m overspend in 2026/27 due to pressures within children’s services, a revenue and capital budget outturn report showed.

Durham County Council is considering “effectively unavoidable” maximum council tax increases over the next four years, a range of new saving proposals across back-office

Industry body Pensions UK has appointed Rachel Brothwood to chair its Policy Board, a move which will help articulate the LGPS perspective in conversations

London boroughs are facing a cumulative budget shortfall of £5.2bn between now and 2030, new analysis has shown.  London Councils’ latest analysis of local

East Sussex County Council has projected a £4.3m overspend within adult social care, a council monitoring report showed.  The overspend is primarily related to

South Holland District Council held £26m in investments as of 30 June 2026 compared with £29m on 31 March 2026, a forecast outturn report

Bolton Council is considering the acquisition of up to 100 homes to help meet an acute need for temporary accommodation in the borough. Cabinet

Worcestershire County Council has warned that it will remain financially fragile even if it qualifies for a further government bailout next year. Faced with

The fees paid by councils for external audit are set to rise by 3% this year to cover the contractual inflationary increase payable to