The Director of Pensions introduced the report to the Committee. The report provided the Committee with details of a consultation by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) which sought views on the Local Government Pension Scheme’s (LGPS) “next steps on investments” and sought comment on and approval of the proposed response which had been prepared by officers.

A Member commented on the difficulty of finding investable local levelling up opportunities and suggested that the response should make the point that support to address this was needed.  He also questioned whether the definition of levelling up was too broad and did not bring out the need for a focus on areas of particular deprivation.  . Officers confirmed that the response could be expanded to propose incentives to stimulate levelling up investments but noted that there were wealth disparities within as well as between geographical areas which made any definition difficult to frame.

Resolved - That the report be considered and a response to the consultation be approved subject to any additional suggestions from the Local Pension Board to which the Director of Pensions may agree.