Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the amalgamation of local government pension funds will be compulsory; whether pension funds will be able to choose which new fund to join; and whether she has had recent discussions with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) pension funds on her proposed changes.

The Government is consulting on proposals relating to asset pooling in the Local Government Pensions Scheme (LGPS) England and Wales, following extensive engagement with sector stakeholders including the LGA.

The proposals in the consultation do not include mandatory merging of funds, and so a) assets and liabilities b) paying pensions and c) acquiring contributions from councils would remain the responsibility of the administering authority. Administering authorities would remain responsible for setting an investment strategy, with its implementation delegated to the pools.

All pools would be FCA-regulated investment management companies, with partner administering authorities as sole shareholders. Boards of all pool companies would be required to have the skills and experience appropriate to the leadership of an investment management company, meeting the requirements for FCA authorisation.