UK – The pensions panel at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy has a new chairman - Bob Summers, director of finance at Norfolk County Council.

He replaces Helen Kilpatrick, director of finance at the Home Office, the UK’s interior ministry.

The panel is responsible for the institutes policy and technical work on local authority pensions. Summers said: “"I am very pleased to be taking over the chair of the panel from Helen Kilpatrick who chaired it superbly during a period of considerable and increasing debate on pensions.

“The coming months and years will see this debate intensify. CIPFA's Pensions Panel will have a key role in raising the debate about the local government pension scheme, but most importantly its relationship to other Public Sector Schemes and the national debate on the pensions promise and funding."

"CIPFA welcomes the breadth and depth of experience that Bob will bring to the panel, particularly at a time when the issue of pensions provision across the public sector is high on everyone's agenda," said CIPFA’s technical manager for audit, Patrick Clackett.