Pension fund Vote approaches on whether to divest from arms trade

THE Avon Pension Fund may not have enough support from its members to end its investments in arms companies - as a vote on the controversial issue approaches.

- John WIMPERIS Local democracy reporter

Protesters outside Keynsham Civic Centre calling for Avon Pension Fund to divest from the arms trade

The Avon Pension Fund Committee is due to meet next week to make a decision on whether the £6bn fund, which administers the Local Government Pension Scheme across the former county of Avon, should divest from the aerospace and defence sector. Over the last year, public sector workers in the Bath and Bristol area have campaigned for the fund to stop investing in weapons over concerns that their pensions are being used to fund human rights abuses by Israeli forces in Palestine.

But there may not be enough support across the fund’s 100,000 members to make the decision. A survey of the fund’s members carried out in September found that 42% supported divesting, while 47% wanted the fund to continue to invest in aerospace and defence.

Bristol Palestine Solidarity Campaign has said that 47% in support is “no clear mandate to continue to fund the war industry”

But lawyers have said that the fund would need to have a “broad consensus” of members in support before it made a decision with a financial impact for non-financial reasons.

The point was raised at a meeting of the fund’s Local Pension Board yesterday, an advisory body that monitors the committee's decisions.