Agenda item

The Head of Pensions Governance and Investments presented a report of the Corporate Director of Finance, the purpose of which was to inform the Committee of the consultation issued by the Government the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales: Fit for the Future – technical consultation, outline some key points from that consultation and how the Teesside Fund could be impacted and the timetable and process for responding to the consultation. The report also aimed to inform Members of the consultation response made on behalf of the Fund by the Head of Pensions Governance and Investments (in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair).

On 20 November, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) opened a technical consultation relating to two “draft statutory instruments” relating to Fit for the Future reforms for the LGPS in England and Wales. They asked for feedback across 29 questions on two new sets of draft regulations, with a 6-week deadline of 2 January 2026.

The Fit for the Future consultation launched on 14 November 2024 and brought about sweeping reforms to how the LGPS in England and Wales invest assets and are governed. A number of these were in the process of being put into primary legislation through the Pension Schemes Bill, which also covered a much wider range of reforms covering the full spectrum of pension schemes in the UK. MHCLG were also working on regulations and guidance specific to the LGPS to implement these reforms. It was expected that there would be a number of consultations launched before the 1 April 2026 deadline for these reforms to come into effect (subject to passage of the pensions Scheme Bill through Parliament).

This consultation was on two sets of draft regulations implementing the LGPS Fit for the Future reforms. MHCLG asked for feedback on these, focussed on whether they were fit for purpose and do the job that government want. There were a range of different types of questions across the 29 asked, ranging in scope from strictly whether the wording of the regulations was sufficient to meet the government’s aims, through to open questions asking for any comments respondents may have. While the consultation itself provided a summary of the key points they were asking questions on, the devil was in the detail within the draft regulations, which could be difficult to follow and were open to interpretation.

The consultation was split into two sections. The first covered 23 questions regarding the draft Local Government Pension Scheme (Pooling, Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2026, which would replace the Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2016 and give legal effect to the proposals set out in the Pooling and Local Investment chapters of the ‘Fit for the Future’ consultation. The second section asked six questions tackling the draft Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2026, which would tackle the governance section of Fit for the Future.

ORDERED that the information provided was received and noted.