The Pension Fund Committee for Durham County Council convened on Friday, 5 December 2025, to address a range of topics, including the overall value and performance of pension fund investments, regulatory updates, and a review of the fund's risk management and policy statements. The committee was also scheduled to discuss the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) improvements regarding access and protections. Some items, dealing with exempt or confidential information, were scheduled to be discussed in private.

Here's a summary of the key items from the agenda:

Regulatory Update and LGPS Consultations

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on regulatory matters affecting the LGPS, including the government's response to the 'Fit for the Future' consultation, HM Treasury's pensions review, and the LGPS 'Access and fairness' consultation.

The 'Fit for the Future' consultation includes proposals such as requiring LGPS pools to be FCA regulated entities, and requiring LGPS funds to delegate the implementation of their investment strategy to the pool. The 'Access and fairness' consultation includes proposals to address survivor pensions and death grants, address the gender pension gap in the LGPS, and changes to forfeiture.

The committee was also scheduled to discuss the government's consultation on scheme improvements to the LGPS relating to access and protections. The consultation covers four key areas:

• Normal Minimum Pension Age (NMPA)
• LGPS Access for Councillors and Mayors
• Academy Consolidation
• New Fair Deal

Review of Pension Fund Risks

The committee was scheduled receive an update on the revisions to the LGPS Pension Fund risk register, following a recent review with the council's Risk and Governance Team. The report pack included an extract from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)'s 2018 guidance on Managing Risk in the Local Government Pension Scheme, and the pension fund risk register.

The report pack stated that there were 16 risks on the Pension Fund risk register, nine medium risks and seven low risks. The areas assessed as medium risk were:

• The pension fund assets may fail to grow in line with the developing cost of pension fund liabilities, leading to an adverse financial impact on the pension fund [Risk 1]
• Inappropriate investment in breach of the Fund's environmental, social or governance principles, leading to reputational damage [Risk 3]
• Risk that the amount of money needed to meet the fund's liabilities turns out to be greater than expected, leading to an adverse financial impact on the pension fund [Risk 4]
• Risks associated with asset pooling through Border to Coast [Risk 8]
• Poor standards of data quality, leading to disruption to the discharge of administering authority functions [Risk 10]
• Serious breach of law regarding management of data/information, including an unauthorised release requiring notification to ICO, leading to disruption to the discharge of administering authority functions [Risk 11]
• A successful cyberattack, leading to disruption to the discharge of administering authority functions [Risk 12]
• McCloud Judgement extension to the implementation period requires all aspects of the implementation to be complete by 31 August 2026 [Risk 15]
• Border to Coast Expansion [Risk 16]

Review of Funding Strategy Statement

The committee was scheduled to review the updated Funding Strategy Statement (FSS). The FSS is a key policy document that sets out the fund's approach to managing long-term funding requirements and funding risk, while enabling stability and sustainability for participating scheme employers. The report pack included the draft FSS.

Overall Value and Performance of Pension Fund Investments

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the overall value of the Pension Fund's investments as of 30 September 2025. The report pack included reports from the fund managers, including Alliance Bernstein, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP), CBRE Global Investment Partners, Foresight Group, and LGIM. The report pack also included a performance measurement report from Northern Trust, the fund's custodian.

The report pack stated that the value of the Fund at 30 September 2025 was £3.987 billion, compared to £3.843 billion at 30 June 2025.

The report pack also stated that the fund had made its first two subscriptions to the BCPP UK Real Estate fund, with £32.54m invested on 31 July 2025, and a further £32.54m on 30 September 2025.

Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts and Audit Completion Plan

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts and Audit Completion Plan.

The report pack included the Durham County Council Pension Fund Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025, and a follow-up letter regarding the 2024-25 Audit Completion Report.

The annual report stated that contributing members increased by 325 (1.36%) to 24,227, and that the market value of the Fund's assets increased by 0.85% from £3.721 billion to £3.752 billion.

Private Session

In Part B of the meeting, from which the public was scheduled to be excluded, the committee was scheduled to discuss the minutes of the previous meeting, reports from the independent and pension fund advisors, the annual review of private markets, investment beliefs and strategy, an actuarial valuation update, responsible investment policy, and quarterly performance reports from Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Alliance Bernstein, CBRE Global Investment Partners, Foresight, and LGIM.