United Kingdom

UK - Excluding council tax rises from inflation measures could halve pension increases, the Conservative Party says.

UK - Residential property returns continued to rise last year, new figures from Investment Property Databank show.

UK - Isis Asset Management has called on fund managers to follow its lead and waive initial charges when schemes reinvest dividends in DC funds.

UK - The Raising Standards of Pensions Administration steering group has launched a website in a bid to boost its campaign for better standards.

SCOTLAND - The Church of Scotland is facing a pensions scheme deficit of more than £50m.

UK - Consultant Jardine Lloyd Thompson and law firm Norton Rose are gearing up for the second in a series of three seminars to focus on pensions and employee benefits.

UK - The Society of Financial Advisers' Find an Adviser internet service received more than 16,000 hits in the first quarter.

UK - Law Debenture director Andrew Gibson has died at the age of 52 after an heroic battle against cancer.

UK - The Association of Independent Financial Advisers has told the government that none of the Sandler stakeholder products can be brought to the public without advice.

UK - Friends Provident is running a series of six workshops in south-west England and Wales this month to help financial advisers expand business in corporate pensions.