Local Government Pension Fund
Debate between Lord Massey of Hampstead and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage(2 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)
I cannot comment specifically on the Law Commission principles, but I will write to the noble Lord on that. However, the LGPS, as a public sector scheme, is subject to particularly high expectations on responsible investment—as the noble Lord indicated—and must maintain the highest standards in managing financial risk while retaining local control and displaying transparency in accountability and investment decisions. Therefore, I think the guardrails are in place, but I will come back to him on the specific issue of the Law Commission recommendations.
Lord Massey of Hampstead (Con)
My Lords, the draft guidance includes a paragraph 5.6, which allows schemes, in effect, to accept a lower rate of return for “ESG-related goals”. Does the Minister agree with me that there is a real danger that this could be used for political purposes, as has been mentioned before, as a mechanism to boycott and divest to the detriment of pensioners, despite the Government’s best intentions in this regard?