Notts County Council says it won’t divest from Israel-supplying firms, but encourages them to think about human rights’
Nottinghamshire County Council says it has no plans to change its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) investments in companies that supply arms to Israel’s military, after a petition was set up.
Hundreds of signatures were collected by action group volunteers at a peaceful Pro-Palestine demonstration in Nottingham city centre on Monday, August 11.
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to the groups, they appeared hopeful and positive that discussions would take place with the council if the number of signatures on the petition reached a certain threshold.
But a spokesperson for the council says this is not the case, commenting that its “approach does not involve divestment.”
They said: “The Nottinghamshire LGPS fund does hold investments in companies operating in conflict zones, including the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
“However, our approach does not involve divestment. Instead, we prioritise active engagement over divestment, aiming to manage ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risks and uphold our fiduciary duties through dialogue and stewardship.”
The council instead advised that they were in support of the signing of a statement, by the LGPS parent company LGPS Central, encouraging companies that are involved in exporting arms to militaries like Israel’s to adhere to UN human rights guidelines.
The spokesperson continued: “Our pooling company, LGPS Central has signed a statement calling on companies to adhere to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
“As part of our stewardship approach, we engage with all companies incorporated in Israel, encouraging them to support and implement the provisions of the UNGPs. This reflects our commitment to responsible investment and international human rights standards.
“The pension fund and LGPS Central collaborate with organisations such as the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) and EOS at Federated Hermes to engage with companies on human rights issues. These engagements include discussions with companies listed by the UN for their activities in the OPT.”
The Local Government Pension Scheme is an optional pension scheme for people who work in the public sector – for example in local government directly, in the police force or in teaching. It has more than five million members.
The money that members pay into it forms part of the pool of money invested in companies that deal in trade with the Israeli military. These investments are intended to increase the value of individuals’ pensions as share prices increase.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s LGPS has shares worth more than £17m in BAE Systems, a British supplier of weapons to the Israeli military, and shares worth more than £4m in GE Aerospace, a similar enterprise, owned by General Electric. BAE’s share price has increased by more than 80 per cent since the start of Israel’s military action in Gaza, while GE’s has increased by more than 200 per cent.