SAB seeking meeting with minister over conflict investment
Author: LAPF Investments | Published: August 21, 2026
The Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) has written to the new local government minister, Jim McMahon, over the question of investment in conflict areas.
It comes as administering authorities are receiving further correspondence from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, following the response to a letter from the previous local government minister – Alison McGovern – on the question of LGPS legal duties and international human rights law.
McGovern’s letter came in response to an invitation by SAB chair Roger Phillips to address the arguments being put forward by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
SAB also received correspondence from the UK Lawyers for Israel setting out an alternative legal view.
In a statement, Phillips and George Georgiou – GMB national pensions organiser and vice-chair of SAB – said the issue raised is one that authorities should “consider carefully”, adding that the board is concerned that individual funds may be expected to shoulder significant legal, financial and reputational risk arising from uncertainty over the legal position.
It added: “It is unreasonable to expect individual administering authorities to navigate a novel and contested legal question without greater certainty as to the basis on which those judgments are expected to be made.
“While investment decisions are implemented through LGPS pools, it is the responsibility of administering authorities to set their investment strategy, including their responsible investment policy, and they remain accountable for ensuring those policies are carried out in accordance with the law and their fiduciary duties.
“The earlier reply from the previous minister simply did not address the key point about whether the government accepts the legal arguments about the administering authority function being sufficiently connected to the state to require it to have regard to international human rights law duties engaged by the ongoing conflict in Gaza.”
It went on to say that it did not want the UK government to try to set responsible investment policy, but believes that authorities are entitled to understand the government’s position on this specific legal question so they can take their own decisions with a clearer understanding of the legal context in which those decisions are made.
To get clarity on this, the SAB has written to the new minister to seek an urgent meeting on the question.
In the meantime, it’s advising authorities to consider the issues raised carefully and ensure they’re clear about the rationale for their decisions.
It added: “Authorities should continue to set and follow their responsible investment policies in line with their understanding of the fiduciary duty and should not feel pressured into changing course solely because legal action is being contemplated or threatened.”
