Councils maintain services after Carillion collapse
Councils have stepped in to ensure services formerly run by collapsed contractor Carillion have continued running. According to the Local Government association, a “relatively small” number of councils were affected by the news that the outsourcing firm had gone into liquidation. A statement said that councils “have been monitoring the situation closely and are implementing contingency plans to keep services running as normally as possible. Councils are also working with other public sector partners in their local area to be ready for any wider knock-on effects of Carillion’s failure.”
Brunel appoints Fanshawe
Brunel Pension Partnership has appointed Richard Fanshawe as its head of private markets. Fanshawe joins the Local Government Pension Scheme pool from Derbyshire Pension Fund on 1 February. Dawn Turner, CEO of Brunel, said: “Richard brought us the ideal mix of technical experience, with 11 years of experience across a broad range of different assets classes, including eight years as a fund and portfolio manager focused on direct equities, private equity, infrastructure and credit strategies.”
Unite to ballot over pay offer
The Unite union is to ballot members to consult over its recommendation to reject the pay offer by local government employers. Staff have been offered a rise of 2% a year over the next two years, but Unite national officer for local authorities Jim Kennedy said: “Our members simply do not believe that the offer will result in enough members receiving a pay increase which is at least in line with inflation.” He said the union would consider its next steps after the member ballot is held.
LGPS pools create joint admin service
Northumberland County Council and South Tyneside Council have announced they will create a shared administration service for their pension funds. The service, which is aimed at reducing administration costs, is set to go live in the next few weeks. Northumberland council leader Peter Jackson said: “By working with South Tyneside Council to provide a joint LGPS administration service we will improve resources and futureproof the service.”
LPP to outsource middle office function
Local Pension Partnership is looking to upgrade its portfolio management system and outsource its middle office function. In a tender, the Local Government Pension Scheme pool said that the outsourced middle office would “deliver an enhanced investment operations process, preparing the model for additional clients, instrument and investment types and client reporting needs”. The move follows a review of its investment operations, systems and processes which recommend improvements to “improve operational risk resilience and delivery of regulatory compliance”.
London boroughs in social investment programme
Five London boroughs have teamed up with social investors to launch a programme aimed at keeping young people out of care. The Positive Families Partnership will work with more than 350 young people at risk of going into care in London Borough Councils of Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Bexley, Merton and Newham. Positive Families Partnership will benefit from management support from Social Finance UK and Bridges Fund Management, with the latter also providing over £4.5m to cover the up-front costs of the programme via a social impact bond.
