Communities minister Greg Clark must prioritise management of the £47bn local government pension scheme (LGPS) deficit, experts have advised today.

The call was made today on the second day of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) local authority conference, amid a survey of LGPS fund members which found more than a third (35%) said the incoming communities secretary should focus on tackling spiralling deficits.

Almost a third (30%) advised Mr Clark should take no action on LGPS, 9% said the new local government secretary should focus on governance and 4% on merging funds – while not a single respondent said mandating passive investment should be a priority.