Question

To ask the Honourable Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, which AGMs the Commissioners have attended in relation to companies in which shares are held by the Commissioners in each of the last three years.

In 2016 the Church Commissioners established an engagement team in conjunction with the Church of England Pensions Board, reflecting the importance of engagement in the application of our ethical investment policies. The engagement team has responsibility for voting our shareholdings in publicly listed companies, preparing ethical exclusion lists, and engaging companies in which we are shareholders on issues related to our ethical policies. During 2017 they undertook 112 engagements on behalf of the Church Commissioners, which ranged from letter-based contact to regular meetings with Chairs or Board members. The most significant proportion of face-to-face meetings remained with companies in the extractive industries. A list of company AGMs attended by the Church Commissioners’ Engagement Team in 2016, 2017 and 2018 (to date) is below.