Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to promote diversity in pension schemes governance; and if she will make a statement.

In 2018, Government made amendments to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005 which required trustees to state their policy on environmental, social and governance considerations in their investment strategy, typically including consideration of the diversity of the firms in which they invest. It also supports greater diversity in trustee board representation.

The primary focus on pensions schemes is ensuring that trustees in all occupational pension schemes meet standards of honesty, integrity and knowledge appropriate to their role.

The Pensions Regulator is already looking at the issue of trustee board diversity across all schemes and began work on this in Spring 2020. The proposed industry working group will bring together the wealth of material and experience that is available to help pension schemes improve the diversity of their boards.