Search questions

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

You can see from the questions that you have been asked today this is clearly a hot topic for us, and also, as politicians, we are very concerned about the issue of openness and the public knowing. So far this aspect has not been in the annual report, that is other information that I have. Is that not true? This is something you bring in to the annual report or is it simply that it is the first time you have had it so it has not happened yet?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Then I would like to conclude by pushing you to go further and to be public with people like us and, indeed, the 70,000 contributors so that in things that, as it were, I get, I can see you living out what you say your policy is, which is in the question, that you are progressively improving over time. Currently, I do not see that, and I think you should.

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Judging from your answers, some of the information I have here that I was going to ask you about is completely erroneous, and I am going to be delighted if you tell me I am completely wrong. I would like to follow on from my colleague Mike's [Tuffrey] excellent line of questioning on openness. The feeling is generally that there is not as much openness from you as there are from other companies who have got the same sort of ethical and socially responsible stance. Can I clarify; you commented on the voting record, however my understanding is that although...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Thank you, and I welcome you and thank you for coming. This is an important topic if not one that the media particularly get very excited about. This question is all about socially responsible, ethical investment, and you will be aware that there is quite a debate as to whether there is a choice to be made between returns and ethics. My own view and what is behind this question is that if one is positively engaging - which is, I think, what your strategy is - then the two agendas come together, because the long term sustainable return is...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

So if you have an approach or a strategy around engagement on these sorts of issues, is that in the public domain? Again, I could not find if you are engaging, which is the right strategy, what you are actually engaging on. And if you do not, will you promise to put that in the public domain?

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

I think that would be very helpful, and I think certainly we would like it. I suspect the pensioners and prospective pensioners, would also like it, because then they can at least get into a dialogue with you. The fourth thing that the Fair Pensions organisation asks for is to incorporate your approach to responsible investment into your investment mandates and into your fund manager selection and monitoring. Do I take it from what you said that you do do that?

• Question by: Jenny Jones
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

It does leave the question hanging in the air; what on earth is the point of having any sort of strategy or corporate social responsibility and ethical policy if you are not going to implement it by choosing between companies? Let me go back to your answer about the arms trade and tobacco. You say at the moment you are not big investors in them. It is my question you are probably answering later. In that case, why not take a principled stance and stop investing. There must be thousands upon thousands of people who are pension holders who would...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

Can I just ask you to confirm you're responsible investment stamps, and what I would regard as a false choice between returns and responsible investment? If we cast this less in terms of not investing in so called bad things, and more in terms of investing in good things that will contribute to long term sustainablity, is that a summary of your position? My colleague, Jennette [Arnold] has rightly given me some evidence to say that ethical investment can outperform mainstream, but my hunch is that is ethical as defined in terms of sustainable, rather than screening out the bad...

• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

So if you are in a position to put our money behind, as it were, good things going forward, just picking up this particular question in terms of responding to lobbying, crudely, what role does the Mayor play - we have touched on the Board appointments - but in terms of saying, `Well, look, these are our strategies for London, these are the things that we think are going to make London and the wider economy sustainable'?. What attention do you pay to GLA strategies for example?

• Reference: 2007/0006
• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 January 2007

According to the LFPA Statement of Investment Principles LFPA's investment managers are required to: 'demonstrate that the content, monitoring and effectiveness of their socially responsible investment policies and procedures progressively improves over time.' Can you demonstrate this to us?