The West Midlands Pension Fund Committee last met on Wednesday 10 December 2025.  It is possible to download the agenda and papers relating to that meeting.  Minutes and webcasts of previous meetings are also available. 

Following their June meeting we received the following statement from the Committee:
“We recognise there are concerns regarding armaments manufacturers, including those producing nuclear weapons. In June 2024, we issued a statement on our approach to companies operating in the aerospace and defence sector. We continue to monitor the situation closely with our advisers and Governing Bodies and will update our position as needed.” 
This statement is no longer available on their website, but we were recently informed of a position paper from the Committee, referring to concerns from the Palestine Solidarity Committee which are shared by West Midlands and National CND.

The Committee is made up of councillors from each local authority in the West Midlands Metropolitan area. Their next meeting will be on 18 March – please write to your delegate and ask them to consider disinvestment from nuclear weapons manufacture.  I wrote to Councillor Mary Locke, the Birmingham delegate  today (10 March) – feel free to use my letter (see below) as a template.

Dear Councillor Locke

I am again writing to you in your capacity as the City of Birmingham’s delegate to the committee of the West Midlands Pension Fund, which has its next meeting on Wednesday 18 March.  Item 5 on the agenda refers to consideration of the Fund’s Responsible Investment Activities, and there is a paragraph on page 29 of the papers to the meeting which reads as follows:

“The Fund continues to receive correspondence from individual members of the public and established divestment groups on a range of responsible investment topics, including … those linked to weapons manufacturing.  Over the reporting period, the Fund received five queries specifically relating to investments in war or conflict zones, all of which have been addressed through completed responses or appropriately escalated. …. The Fund will continue to respond to correspondence as appropriate and monitor progress on the issues raised, providing updates at each quarterly Pensions Committee meeting”

Clearly the Fund is concerned that its investments are used in a socially responsible manner, and it is good to see some attention to investments in war or conflict zones, since weapons manufacture contributes massively to climate change and the destruction of human lives and nature.  However, it is not clear that the issues regarding nuclear weapons have been addressed.  Rather than addressing the committee via yourself can you suggest another way I might make my concerns clear to the committee and receive a direct response?

I understand that the Pension Fund has investments in firms that make nuclear weapons or their components, including Lockheed Martin, BAE systems, General Dynamics and many others.  Nuclear weapons could kill millions of people, and built up areas such as the West Midlands would be particular targets.  It should be part of the responsibility of local councils to prevent nuclear bombs falling on the West Midlands.  It is therefore important that the Pension Fund stops investing in nuclear weapons manufacturers and in all armament manufacturers.

I would be grateful if you could convey my views as a council tax payer in Birmingham and a beneficiary of the Pension Fund to the committee on 18 March, and report back to me on any discussion.

Also, has there been any statement by Birmingham City Council regarding divestment of its own pension fund from companies that are complicit in Israel’s crimes against humanity?

I look forward to hearing from you

Pam Bishop