Comment: Pensions - Let people choose

Nov 28 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

THE news that thousands of Merseyside workers will continue to see their pension contributions invested in companies involved in the arms trade has outraged many people.

This controversial decision by Wirral Council, which administers the pension fund shared by five Merseyside councils, goes against the resolutions passed by Liverpool, St Helens and Knowsley administrations.

And Wirral has been criticised by Merseyside Stop the War coalition, which claimed fewer than five minutes were spent debating the issue.

The fund had £13.6m linked to investments with firms that are involved in aspects of armaments trade, including BAE, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

Of course, the decision is based on the premise of getting the best possible returns for those workers whose pensions have been invested.

The investment pot – worth around £4bn – is for workers in local govern- ment, housing trusts and John Moores University. But while Wirral is pursuing its “fiduciary duty” towards those paying into the pension scheme, there may well be those who are uncomfortable that their money is being invested in this way.

Perhaps the simplest resolution would be to ask the workers how their money is invested – and whether the price of a great return is simply too high.

We are watching

READERS of the Liverpool Daily Post will be familiar with the performance of out-of-hours GP provider UC24.

Recent headlines included Liverpool patients being wrongly charged for medication and a toddler suffering from pneumonia diagnosed with a cold.

Last night, it emerged UC24 had lost the contract for Sefton but retained it for Knowsley and Liverpool.

It is to be hoped that this healthcare provider, which so many people depend on, will deliver a first-class service in the future. The Daily Post will be monitoring developments with interest.