The Local Government Association (LGA) today dismissed fears of a council pensions crisis, after the TaxPayers' Alliance reported that UK authorities had a combined pension deficit of £54bn last year.

TPA researchers have long called on ministers to tackle what they see as the soaring costs of town hall pensions, claiming last year that £1 out of every £5 of Council Tax 'was spent on employer contributions to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)'.