Northamptonshire ‘failing to secure value for money’
Auditors have issued an adverse conclusion on Northamptonshire County Council’s arrangements to secure value for money in a report on the 2016/17 tax year. KPMG said that it was “not satisfied that during the year the authority had proper arrangements in place to take informed decisions and deploy its resources to achieve planned and sustainable outcomes for taxpayers and local people, to effectively support the sustainable delivery of strategic priorities and maintain statutory functions.” The assessment said that “financial resilience is a significant value-for-money risk to the authority”. It said that, although the authority had made significant progress and structural changes have been made by the authority, the actions do not fully mitigate this risk, “the authority has not made proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources”.
Brent appoints LPP for pension admin services
London Borough of Brent has approved the selection of LGPS pool Local Pensions Partnership as a shared service partner to offer pension administration services. A report to council said that the previous service provider, Capita Employee Benefits, had “not been satisfactory, particularly on special projects such as implementation of the new LGPS regulations 2014.” In addition, it noted delays in sending out 2016 and 2017 annual benefit statements, which have been “reported as material breaches to The Pensions Regulator”. On its decision to award the contract to LPP, the council said: “The range of organisations to which pension administration is provided and the expertise in provision of such services gives confidence that the LPP can provide a quality pension administration service.”
EU regulations prompt new JP Morgan MMF range
JP Morgan Asset Management has launched a new range of liquidity fund investment options in response to new European Union regulations on money market funds. The new rules will allow MMFs to be provided in three categories: public debt constant net asset value (CNAV), low volatility net asset value (LVNAV) and variable net asset value (VNAV) funds. The new rules will come into force on 21 January. Jim Fuell, head of global liquidity sales, international, at JP Morgan Asset Management, said: “Our liquidity fund range investment options will evolve to allow us to provide choices to investors across all categories. These changes to the fund range will have no impact on the investment profile or philosophy of any of our funds.”
Locally-raised income on the increase
Councils are financing more of their expenditure from locally retained income, according to government data. According to the DCLG’s revenue expenditure and financing outturn statistics for 2016-17, 40.4% of revenue expenditure was funded through council tax and retained business rates, compared to 38.7% last year. In 2016-17, overall revenue expenditure for all local authorities in England totalled £93.6bn, 1% lower than the £94.5bn spent over the 2015-16 financial year.
Pension fund forum launches climate change guidance
The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has launched a climate change investment policy framework which it says is the first of its kind for Local Government Pension Scheme funds. The aim of the document is to assist LAPFF members and other investors to deal with investment risks and opportunities resulting from the impacts of climate change. LAPFF chairman Kieran Quinn said: “LAPFF has not just been at the forefront of the climate change debate within the investor community, but has spearheaded investor action. This is because LAPFF members are clear about the impact on investors of new environmental regulation and the global transition to a low-carbon economy that’s well under way.” The framework covers strategic asset allocation, investment strategy, investment manager selection and risk management.
Councils call for Right to Buy receipts reform
The Right to Buy could grind to a halt without changes to the rules on how councils spend receipts, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). Ahead of this month’s budget, the LGA is calling on the government to allow councils to retain 100% of Right to Buy sales receipts and be given more freedom to borrow to invest and to set rents, plus local flexibility on implementation. LGA housing spokesman Martin Tett said: “Current RTB arrangements are restricting councils from being able to replace homes being sold under the scheme. RTB will quickly become a thing of the past in England if councils continue to be prevented from building new homes and replacing those sold.”
Court case establishes council mental health liability
Councils are responsible for providing treatment for people requiring after-care services after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983, even if personal damages awards have not been exhausted, a court has ruled. Manchester City Council has lost an appeal over the case of a man left with a personality disorder after being hit by a car in a road accident in 1998. It must now pay around £3.5m in damages to the man for failure to provide after care services since 2005. The council lost its argument that it had not been responsible for paying for the care because the man could afford it from damages he received in a personal injury claim relating to the accident.
