From Dead Man's Alley to Pensions

Two varying meetings tonight, that show the diversity of the work of a Councillor.

Firstly, the very local issue of Dead’s Man’s Alley” on the East Acton Estate – at a meeting with local residents, fellow Councillors, and a Council officer. Dead Man’s Alley has a history of anti-social behaviour (the clue is in the title), and local residents and I have been trying to close it for some time. New Government legislation now makes this far easier, but Council officers are instead seeking to spend money encouraging the use of it - against the opposition of local residents. I and the residents insisted and the meeting concluded that the dangerous part of the alley should be closed, but also agreed that feasibility work and consultation are undertaken on a possible safer alternative path. A good result overall, but it’ll be important to ensure that the Council keep to it.

I went from this to the Council’s Pension Fund Panel, where we have some key decisions to take in the next few months about the £400 million fund. The Local Government Pension Scheme has nationally-decided pension levels and benefits, but is funded and administered at a local level. The core funding comes from employees’ contributions (6% of their salaries) and income from investments, with the Council’s budget having to make up the difference between this income and pensions paid. Therefore, the better the fund’s investments perform in generating income, the lower is the cost to the local taxpayer.

LB Ealing is one of better performing Council pension funds in the country - in the five to ten percent best performers over the last five to ten years - and winning awards for topping the ‘league table’ in some investment categories. However, the investment strategy and fund managers are now due for a review, and as Trustees we are looking to further improve income in order to minimise Council Tax levels. We had the first debate tonight, and will look to make the key long-term decisions at our next meeting later in the Autumn.