LLG and ALACE withdraw legal claim after Government commits to revocation of exit payment cap regulations

LLG (Lawyers in Local Government) and ALACE (the Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers) have confirmed they will be withdrawing their judicial review claim ahead of the revocation of the Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020 on 19 March.

The two organisations said the revocation was “a direct outcome” of their claim seeking to have the regulations quashed. Other judicial review claims had been launched by a range of other bodies, including the main local government unions. 

LLG and ALACE said they had been deeply concerned that the 2020 Regulations were “rushed and ill thought through, made without proper consideration of the detrimental impact on local government staff”.

They added: “Indeed, at the time of implementation the associated changes to the local government pension scheme were still the subject of consultation. Of great concern was the retrospective effect of the regulations, removing the hard earned right to receive an unreduced pension if made redundant over the age of 55.”

LLG and ALACE noted that explicit provision had been made requiring employers to make additional payments, with interest, to put individuals into the position that they would have enjoyed if the 2020 Regulations had not been in force. 

Quentin Baker, President of LLG, said: "I’m very pleased to see that this issue has been resolved and the pension benefits of our hard-working members have been restored.” 

Ian Miller, Honorary Secretary of ALACE, said: "The Treasury needs to learn from its humiliating U-turn and work with our organisations and the main local government unions before it publishes revised proposals. We will remain vigilant. If necessary, we stand ready to bring forward a fresh challenge if the Treasury seeks to include pension strain within a revised exit cap, when it is a long-standing and justified element of the pension scheme."