Councillors back calls for pension fund to divest from companies linked with Israel

Anthony Lewis, Local democracy reporter.

Councillors have backed calls for the council pension fund to divest from companies linked with Israel’s actions in Gaza.

A notice of motion submitted by Councillor Danny Grehan of Plaid Cymru and agreed by full council on Wednesday, March 4, said the council was of the opinion that public sector pension fund investments in Rhondda Cynon Taff and across Wales “should not fund war crimes, human rights violations, or the potential breaking of international law, regardless of how profitable they are”.

It also said, “the devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza requires an immediate bilateral ceasefire, the provision of food and medicine to the civilian population, and a lasting political and diplomatic solution”.

It went on that although the council’s pensions committee makes decisions independently of the political structures of RCT council full council is within its rights to express a view on the matter.

It said that by continuing to invest in complicit companies, the RCT pension fund is placing itself at risk of reputational harm.

The motion calls on the council to reiterate the beliefs and values passed in the ceasefire motion in September 2024 and to express in strong terms its view that it does not wish to be associated with companies complicit in war crimes.

It also calls on the council to write to the Wales Pension Partnership to make these views clear and call on them to quickly complete the formulation and implementation of an exclusion policy, review their investments, and consider whether any holdings should be divested.

It calls on the council to request the Wales Pension Partnership to regularly review their ethical/responsible investment policies to ensure there are strong checks prior to investment as to whether any companies are complicit in war crimes.

The motion requests that the council’s pensions committee and the Wales Pension Partnership regularly review and report divestment progress, and it says that the RCT pension fund should always aspire to be a model for responsible and ethical investment and behaviour.

The motion said the “ongoing, deeply concerning, and harrowing” conflict in Gaza has resulted in significant loss of innocent life and mentioned that in September 2024 the council debated the crisis and decided to support calls for an immediate ceasefire, for all remaining hostages on both sides to be released and returned, and for the implementation of an immediate and large-scale humanitarian aid programme.

“There have been flagrant breaches of the most recent so-called ceasefire agreement with hundreds of Palestinians killed by Israel, and aid still being blocked from entering Gaza,” the motion said.

Andrew Draper also made a public presentation to council at the same meeting which made the case for why RCT Council should divest pensions from companies alleged to be complicit in the oppression of Palestinians.

The motion said data from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) references its opinion that Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund holds investments in companies alleged to be complicit totalling £233,172,118 and its public database contains details of their research on complicit companies.

The motion added that on September 1, 2025, Palestine Solidarity Campaign announced it had issued a legal notice to every council in England and Wales administering a Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund requesting they take steps to divest from companies enabling and profiting from Israel’s genocide, military occupation, and apartheid against Palestinians.

The legal notice requests local administering authorities to ensure their investment strategies give effect to the prevention and non-assistance duties and states they must refrain from making new investments in involved companies and take reasonable steps towards divesting from such companies.

It says companies with the closest connection to Israel’s breaches of international law should be divested from as a matter of priority.

Local authorities such as Waltham Forest, Oxford City, and North Somerset Council have passed policies opposing investment in arms companies complicit in the conflict.

The motion said Welsh councils have begun voting to divest from pension assets complicit in the oppression of Palestinians including Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Monmouthshire, Newport, Powys, Ceredigion, Swansea, Caerphilly, Bridgend, and Neath Port Talbot.