§ Mr. Rossiasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of money invested by British pensions funds in buildings and land within the United Kingdom; and how much has been so invested by them during each of the past five financial years.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonInvestment in land, property and ground rents by United Kingdom superannuation and pension funds is shown in the table below. The latest figures available relate to end-March 1974 and exclude "pension" funds which are indistinguishably part of life assurance companies' long-term funds. No breakdown of investment between land, property and ground rents in the United Kingdom and overseas is available although the latter is thought to be small. Superannuation and pension funds also invest in land, property and ground rents through the medium of specialised investment trusts and this is shown in the table. Comprehensive figures of superannuation and pension fund investment are published in "Financial Statistics".
INVESTMENT BY UNITED KINGDOM SUPERANNUATION AND PENSION FUNDS £ million Land, property and ground rents Property Unit trust units* Total invested at 31st March 1974 (book value) 1,322 274 Amount invested during financial year: 1969–70 105 33 1970–71 95 30 1971–72 93 43 1972–73 131 39 1973–74 291 25 * Including investment in Local Authority Mutual Investment Trust which is invested in land, property and ground rents.