The ‘black hole' in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) predicted following Britain's recession will not be as bad as anticipated, research seen by The MJ suggests.

Analyses of 32 out of England and Wales' 89 LGPS funds, suggests the average council pension pot's funding level has declined by just 5% since 2007 – despite the recession and stilted economic recovery, a public spending squeeze, and one-off investment ‘shocks', such as the BP oil spill last year and Iceland's banking collapses.