Rachel Reeves has been accused of a ‘shocking grasp of detail’ and ordered to correct the record after getting basic facts about one of her flagship pension reforms wrong, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The Chancellor, who has been criticised and ridiculed for making misleading claims on her CV, made her latest misstep when quizzed by peers last week over her handling of the economy.
She wants to kickstart sluggish growth by encouraging pension funds to invest more of their money in home-grown ventures.
One of her plans is to create a series of town hall ‘mega-funds’ in the biggest overhaul of the £425 billion Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in a decade.
Replying to a question from former Chancellor Lord Lamont, Reeves claimed the LGPS was managed by ’96 different administering authorities’ which she wants to reduce to ‘eight pools’.
She repeated the erroneous claims despite being flanked by two Treasury officials and reading from copious briefing notes.
Under pressure: Rachel Reeves has been accused of a ‘shocking grasp of detail’ and ordered to correct the record after getting basic facts about one of her flagship pension reforms wrong
But the LGPS is managed by 86 local authorities, while the number of pools is being cut from eight to six under controversial new laws that will force two pools covering the Tory shires of southern England to find new homes by next March.
‘Shockingly the Chancellor’s grasp of detail is no better than when writing her CV,’ said shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith.
‘When she’s writing such big cheques with taxpayers’ money, it’s no time to be loose with your numbers.’
An LGPS insider said: ‘It’s troubling she can’t get basic facts right.’
Reeves was accused of burnishing her CV on the social networking site Linked In by inflating how long she worked at the Bank of England.
A spokesman for the Lords’ economic affairs committee confirmed the Chancellor has until August 6 to correct Hansard, the official record of debates and hearings in Parliament.
The Treasury was contacted for comment.
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