Correspondence with investment consultants & information on managing pension fund climate risk

Joel M Benjamin made this Freedom of Information request to London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

Dear London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council,

Please provide the following information in relation to LB Barking and Dagenham management of pension fund climate risk, & information & advice on same provided by external investment consultants including (but not limited to) Aon, Mercer,  Allenbridge Epic and Hymans Robertson.

1) Please provide emails & correspondence between council employees  (LB Barking and Dagenham finance function + responsible investment & pension fund mgmt), procurement, elected members (on pension fund committee), scheme members & external investment consultants on climate risk between 2018 and 2023

2) Please confirm if specific advice or information on climate risk has been sought by Barking and Dagenham and received from Mercer, or other such external investment consultants? - If so please provide copies of this information. (key search terms include "climate risk", "physical risk", "asset allocation" and "fossil fuels")

3) Please provide the following data points in MS Excel format in relation to each external climate risk analyses undertaken on the councils investment portfolio, noting the date/ year + provider of each analysis:

i) Warming scenarios applied, i.e 2degC, 3degC, 4,degC, 5degC, 6degC & year in which it is suggested each warming threshold considered by the scenarios will be reached?

ii) Projected gains or losses for the portfolio &/or GDP activity for each scenario/year assessed

iii) Specifics of any change(s) to asset portfolio allocation recommended by the consultants to reduce the risk of future financial losses and/or to reduce financed emissions across the portfolio.

Yours faithfully,

Joel M Benjamin

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council

Information request
Our reference: 28549445

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Dear Joel Benjamin
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 21 March
2023.
 
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act
2000 and we aim to send a response by 19 April 2023.
  
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 may restrict the release of some or
all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an assessment
and if any exemptions apply to some or all of the information then we
might not provide that information to you. We will inform you if this is
the case and advise you of your rights to request an internal review and
to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
 
We will also advise you if we cannot provide you with the information
requested for any other reason together with the reason(s) why and details
of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
 
Yours faithfully
 
 
FOI Team
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council

1 Attachment

Information request
Our reference: 28549445

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Dear Joel Benjamin
 
Thank you for your request for information received on 21 March 2023.
 
Please find attached our response to your request.
 
Yours faithfully
 
 
FOI Team
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

Dear London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council's handling of my FOI request 'Correspondence with investment consultants & information on managing pension fund climate risk'.

Given you cite "commercial sensitivity" concerns on the part of the consultants, Hymans Robertson providing the council with information & advice - you may be aware, ICO guidance states that when applying a commercial sensitivity exemption, an authority "must show that because [the information] is commercially sensitive, disclosure would be, or would be likely to be, prejudicial to the commercial activities of a person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity)"

It is is not explained sufficiently how the activity, or communications & documents associated with providing climate risk/ climate scenario analysis constitutes a real commercial risk nor the relative risks of each type of information held within the scope of this request? The counterfactual argument is that if firms advice is sound, and more widely known, both brand recognition & demand for their services will likely increase.

In DoH vs Information Commissioner (EA/2008/0018) - it was held that while some contractual information may be exempted from disclosure, this should not result in the blanket exemption of whole contracts or documents, and any decision to redact or disclose should be taken on a clause by clause, point by point basis.

Please note I have zero interest in obtaining commercial fee or price structure information relating to information, contracted services, or advice the council has sought and received from external third parties - the request is targeted at the communications of senior council staff, with no realistic expectation of privacy when conducting public affairs - in order to better understand how public money is being invested and spent - and how councils responsibilities to manage climate risks, protect the environment, and contribute towards achieving the UK's wider net zero goal are being shaped by external investment consultants.

Procurement framework guidance provided by Barking and Dagenham to the consultant(s) at bidding stage makes clear that any communications or information provided to the council will be subject to FOIA. Additionally, any climate risk assessment advice or modelling undertaken by the consultant(s) is only made possible with information and investment assumptions provided by council to the consultant(s), therefore any attempt to hide behind commercial sensitivity claims could be viewed as a convenient vehicle by which Barking and Dagenham could shield the various assumptions it makes about the future impacts of climate change on future fund returns from effective public & LGPS member scrutiny.

Some examples of climate scenario analysis seen at other councils show implausibly low future impacts for 4 degrees warming, in a scenario described by climate scientists as "hellish" where society as we know it would cease to function, yet the pension fund assets are only shown to suffer annual losses in the order of ~1%?!

Release of climate risk information would likely benefit both LGPS scheme members, and local taxpayers, by providing scope for wider scrutiny, & reassurance for members that the scheme is actively managing climate risks in line with its fiduciary duty, whilst attempting to lower the funds climate impact.

The information requested pertains to climate risk assessments relating to significant public expenditure - namely, consultancy expenditure and the pension scheme investments of public sector workers - underwritten by the taxpayer, and how those schemes are managed in a way which provides for both a stable income in retirement for members, and either contributes towards achieving a liveable climate for scheme members and wider society, or as is presently the case - further contributes to the ongoing growth in global emissions - driving climate breakdown.

As such, given both the substantial sums of public money being managed, and the schemes investments in large financial, transportation, industrial, agricultural and fossil fuel sector companies driving climate change - there is a legitimate public interest in understanding upon what information and advice scheme funds are being invested, and that such information and climate risk advice, in the absence of any regulatory oversight, is consistent with the latest climate science on expected future global warming, and its likely effects on both the environment, and future pension scheme returns.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

Joel M Benjamin

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council

Information request
Our reference: 28549445

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Dear Joel Benjamin
 
Thank you for your request for a review received on 24 April 2023. I am
sorry that you are dissatisfied with our attempts to handle your request
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
I can confirm that we are considering your concerns and we will aim to
provide you with a response by 24 May 2023.
 
Yours faithfully
 
 
Victoria Skeggs
Complaints and Information Officer
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council

1 Attachment

Information request
Our reference: 28549445

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

 
Dear Joel Benjamin
 
Please find attached our response to your recent request for an internal
review. 
 
Yours faithfully
 
FOI Team
 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.