Councils will not be forced to invest their pension funds into infrastructure schemes, the Government has confirmed.

Following the launch of a petition calling for a parliamentary debate about its plans, the Government said it would only intervene if there was clear evidence a pension fund authority was not acting ‘reasonably and lawfully'.

‘The Government has no intention of setting targets for infrastructure investment or removing the right of individual pension fund authorities to make their own decisions about strategic asset allocation,' a statement read.

‘However, the pooling scheme assets announced at the July 2015 Budget will improve their capacity to invest in infrastructure, as well as achieving significant cost savings, while maintaining returns.'

The petition, which has currently been signed by more than 32,000 people, was organised by trade union Unison, which has accused the Government of ‘gambling away' council workers' pensions. 

A total of 100,000 signatures are required for the issue to be considered for a debate in Parliament.