§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he will issue a general circular to local authorities advising them not to invest in pension funds and other investment funds at their disposal in secondary banks or in property companies; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will issue a general circular to local authorities encouraging them to invest pension funds and other investment funds at their disposal inside the 622W United Kingdom, in view of the present dearth of prospective economic investment in the United Kingdom;
(3) if he will issue a general circular to local authorities advising them to invest pension funds and other funds at their disposal in export orientated productive enterprises; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John SilkinI do not consider authorities needs advice from me on the investment of their funds. They take account of a number of factors—security, rate of return, and ease of repayment—which differ according to the nature of the fund being invested, and I have no evidence that they do not invest sensibly and prudently.
The securities in which local authorities may invest superannuation funds are set out in the Trustee Investments Act 1961 as modified by the Local Government Superannuation Regulation 1974. For investments of such funds in other than gilt-edged securities local authorities are required to take proper advice, which is customarily provided by a panel of bankers and actuaries.