City Regions: Pension Funds

Lord Goddard of Stockport Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Goddard of Stockport]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage the new City Regions to invest the pension funds they hold in infrastructure developments that will assist in the economic recovery.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, the Chancellor has announced that local government pension scheme assets worth around £180 billion will be pooled into six British wealth funds to drive investment in infrastructure and local growth. We issued guidance alongside the Autumn Statement that made it clear that authorities should be more ambitious in their infrastructure investment and compare themselves with the example set by the leading global pension fund investors.

[Lord Goddard of Stockport (LD)]

I thank the Minister for her Answer. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is a leader in pooling funds and moving forward. In fact, its pension fund is developing the housing market. It is also drawing up a spatial strategy for planning for Greater Manchester that will deliver 10,000 homes a year over the next 20 years, and that is to be applauded. Can the Minister say why the Department for Communities and Local Government is threatening each and every local authority in Greater Manchester by saying that, unless they draw up their own local plans, it will withhold the new homes bonus fee? The combined authority does what it says on the tin: it is combined. With every authority doing that, it will be done 10 times. I would like an answer to that question.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I totally concur with the noble Lord that the GM pension fund performs very well and meets the needs of its members almost 100%. I am not surprised that the noble Lord has brought this up, given the way Greater Manchester has thought over the last few years, certainly in terms of its ambitions for strategic housing. I would be very happy to meet both the noble Lord and members of the combined authority to see what progress we can make in this area.