The Pensions Investment Committee of Lewisham Council met on Thursday 18 December 2025 to discuss the fund's annual report and accounts, updates on pension administration, and proposals for investment pooling. The committee also received feedback from campaigners regarding divestment.

Divest Campaign Address

Representatives from the Divest Campaign addressed the committee, requesting the Council to divest from companies implicated in human rights abuses. They suggested adopting robust exclusionary criteria, such as those from the UN Human Rights Office list, and engaging with trade unions and community groups on the Divest for Palestine petition. The campaign representatives acknowledged that while divestment from some companies might be challenging, implementing exclusionary criteria could be a significant first step. They also highlighted the importance of proactive community engagement.

The committee welcomed information that the CEO of the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) had agreed to meet with committee members. They also noted that coordination was ongoing with the campaign and encouraged them to share information on supportive boroughs to influence LCIV pooling. However, the committee received clarification that adopting the UN list as part of its exclusion criteria for the PEPPA fund would require agreements with other boroughs due to pooled fund governance.

Following this discussion, the committee resolved that a formal decision paper would be prepared for a future meeting to consider the adoption of the UN list as part of the committee's exclusion criteria, following a discussion on its potential use and governance requirements for pooled funds. The Monitoring Officer and Chair were tasked with progressing this resolution.

Referral Response to Council Motion

The Director of Finance provided an oral report confirming that all five requests relating to a motion and petition referred by Full Council on 16 July had been addressed. Progress updates were noted on investment disclosure, divestment work, engagement with the London CIV, development of a member survey, and trade union involvement in outreach. The committee also welcomed information regarding existing trade union representations on the Pension Board and their role in supporting good governance.

In response to member questions, the Director of Finance advised that options like custom indices and impact bonds had been explored, and policy criteria could enable exclusions even in passive funds. Updates would be provided via the Sustainability Working Group, though timelines for engagement with London CIV and PEPPA were hard to guarantee. ESG or human rights flags were not included in current investment disclosures, but data was available for external analysis, and flags could be added after policy implementation. Pension Board and trade union representatives would be welcomed at committee meetings. The draft member survey, attached to the agenda, covered all ESG areas and included free-text options for broader input. Holdings were held in passive funds, but exclusions would require structural changes through London CIV, and broader exclusion criteria would be defined. Work on a completed communications plan was underway, with trade union involvement to maximise outreach.

The committee resolved that the recommendations set out in the report be agreed.

Annual Report and Draft Statement of Accounts 2024/25

The Director of Finance introduced the report, reminding the committee of the Council's statutory duty to publish the Pension Fund Annual Report by 1 December 2025. The committee noted updates on key governance areas, including the functioning of the Pension Board and Committee, training, and the statement of accounts. The external audit by KPMG was ongoing, with no significant changes expected. The draft audit report would be published on the Pension Fund's website, with final amendments to be reported to the committee in December 2025.

In response to questions, the Director advised that the contents of the Annual Report and Draft Statement of Accounts were adequate, though formatting errors might occur during document conversion. An updated version would be circulated to committee members. The Director acknowledged that becoming a signatory to the UK Stewardship Code would be a significant annual commitment requiring further consideration.

The committee resolved that the recommendations set out in the report be agreed and that a corrected version of the report be circulated to members.

General Update Report - Part One

The committee received a report from the Director of Finance on recent pension administration activities. Highlights included progress on regulatory compliance, dashboard integration, data quality improvements, the delivery of over 12,500 annual benefit statements, McCloud reporting, triennial valuation, upcoming regulatory changes, fund manager engagement, and training needs assessments for committee and board members.

In response to an enquiry, the Chair, Councillor Sian Eiles, suggested organising a dedicated training session or workshop for the committee to ensure members were up-to-date with upcoming regulatory changes. The Director of Finance was tasked with organising this training.

The committee resolved to note the report.

Communication Policy Statement

The Director of Finance introduced the report relating to the Communication Policy Statement. The committee noted the report and welcomed confirmation that the policy contained guidance on how the Pension Fund body should communicate with members and employers. The policy had been reviewed in line with the three-year cycle, with updates modelled on best practice and shared in a track-changed version for transparency. The Pension Board had also reviewed the policy and provided no substantive feedback.

The committee resolved that the recommendations set out in the report be agreed.

Exclusion of Press and Public

It was recommended that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for specific items of business due to the likely disclosure of exempt information. These items included the LGPS Reform report and Pooling update, Members Survey report, Investment monitoring Q2 2025 report, and the General Update Report Part Two.

Date of Next Meeting

The committee noted that the date of the next meeting would be 18 December 2025.