Information request
Our reference: 1642585
Your reference: [FOI #962236 email]

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

Dear M Benjamin
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Thank you for your correspondence which was received on 20th March 2023
requesting the following information:
Please provide the following information in relation to Hertfordshire
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
(Hertfordshire 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 Hertfordshire and received from Mercer, or other 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. 
 
Your request for information is being considered under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. We will respond to your request as quickly as
possible, and by close of 20th April 2023 at the latest.
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 

Victoria Hooper
Information Access Practitioner
Information Access
Hertfordshire County Council
County Hall, Room 216 Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DE, Postal Point:
[1]logo CHO320
T: 01992 555848
E: [2][email address]  
 
[3]Facebook link to Hertfordshire County Council[4]Twitter link
for Hertfordshire County Council[5]update me logo

 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Hertfordshire County Council
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of
Hertfordshire County Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Hertfordshire
County Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising
from the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.facebook.com/hertscountycoun...
4. http://www.twitter.com/hertscc
5. https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/statweb...

Information request
Our reference: 1642585
Your reference: [FOI #962236 email]

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

Dear M Benjamin
 
Further to our e-mail of acknowledgment dated 21st March 2023 .
Hertfordshire County Council is processing your request for information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 

The 20 working day deadline, as outlined by the Act, was 20th April 2023.

Unfortunately, we are still processing your request and have been unable
to meet this deadline.  

As a result we would like to extend the deadline by 10 working days to 5th
May 2023 and we apologise for the delay in responding to your request and
will endeavour to provide the requested information before 5th May 2023
 if at all possible.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Hooper
Information Access Practitioner
Information Access
Hertfordshire County Council
County Hall, Room 216 Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DE, Postal Point:
[1]logo CHO320
T: 01992 555848
E: [2][email address] 
 
[3]Facebook link to Hertfordshire County Council[4]Twitter link
for Hertfordshire County Council[5]update me logo

 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Hertfordshire County Council
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of
Hertfordshire County Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Hertfordshire
County Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising
from the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.facebook.com/hertscountycoun...
4. http://www.twitter.com/hertscc
5. https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/statweb...

Information request
Our reference: 1642585
Your reference: [FOI #962236 email]

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

Dear M Benjamin
 
 

Further to our e-mail of acknowledgment dated 21st March 2023.
Hertfordshire County Council is processing your request for information
under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 

The 20 working day deadline, as outlined by the Act, was 4th May 2023.

Unfortunately, we are still processing your request and will therefore we
have been unable to meet this deadline.  As a result we would like to
extend the deadline by 20 working days to 1st June 2023.

We apologise for the delay in responding to your request and will
endeavour to provide the requested information before 1st June 2023, if at
all possible.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Hooper
Information Access Practitioner
Information Access
Hertfordshire County Council
County Hall, Room 216 Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DE, Postal Point:
[1]logo CHO320
T: 01992 555848
E: [2][email address] 
 
[3]Facebook link to Hertfordshire County Council[4]Twitter link
for Hertfordshire County Council[5]update me logo

 
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Hertfordshire County Council
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of
Hertfordshire County Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Hertfordshire
County Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising
from the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.facebook.com/hertscountycoun...
4. http://www.twitter.com/hertscc
5. https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/statweb...

Information request
Our reference: 1642585
Your reference: [FOI #962236 email]

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

Dear M Benjamin,
 
Freedom of Information Act 2000
 
Hertfordshire County Council received the following request for
information from you:
 
Please provide the following information in relation to Hertfordshire
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
(Hertfordshire 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 Hertfordshire and received from Mercer, or other 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.
Your request has now been considered and we are unable to provide you with
the information you have requested. Due to the broadness of your first
question, we would be required to request a large number of County Council
officers to individually search their email accounts, which we estimate to
equate to over 18 hours of work allowed by the Act.
 
Under Section 12 of the Act, the Council is not obliged to comply with a
request for information if the authority estimates that the costs of
complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.
 
You may wish to narrow your first question to particular officers at the
County Council, or reduce the time frame of your question and resubmit
your request so that it falls within the 'appropriate limit'. 

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 this correspondence
acts as a Refusal Notice.

Please accept my apology, for the delay that you have experienced in
receiving this response and for any inconvenience that this delay may have
caused.

If you are unhappy with the way the County Council has handled your
request for information you may request an internal review of the request.
This will be carried out by a member of the County Council Legal Services
Team, who has had no prior involvement with the request. Requests for an
internal review should be sent to the Information Governance Unit at the
address above (within 2 months of this correspondence) and should detail
in writing your grounds of appeal. 
 
If you are still dissatisfied with the Council's response after the
internal review you have a right of appeal to the Information Commissioner
at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Telephone: 0330 123 1113
Website: [1]www.ico.org.uk 

Please contact me if you have any queries or concerns.

Yours faithfully
 
 

Michael Warby
Information Access Manager
Information Access
Hertfordshire County Council
County Hall, Room 216 Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DE, Postal Point:
[2]logo CHO320
T: 01992 555848
E: [3][Hertfordshire County Council request email] 
 
[4]Facebook link to Hertfordshire County Council[5]Twitter link
for Hertfordshire County Council[6]update me logo

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
 
Hertfordshire County Council
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of
Hertfordshire County Council.
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. Hertfordshire
County Council cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising
from the use of this email or attachments.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[Hertfordshire County Council request email]
4. https://www.facebook.com/hertscountycoun...
5. http://www.twitter.com/hertscc
6. https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/statweb...