Wandsworth's Joint Pensions Committee has approved the Pension Fund Accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025, but not without addressing concerns about investment valuations and a climate disclosure objection raised by a local elector.
The approval came during the committee's meeting on 11 September 2025, where members reviewed an external audit report from EY. The committee reviewed the Public reports pack.
EY's draft Audit Results Report (ARR) anticipated an unqualified audit opinion on the Pension Fund Accounts. However, Ben Lazarus from EY noted an unadjusted difference of £1.69 million related to the London CIV Renewable Infrastructure assets valuation, attributing it to more up-to-date information available at the time of the audit. He clarified that this difference was immaterial and wouldn't require adjustment.
The London CIV Renewable Infrastructure is an investment within the Wandsworth Pension Fund. While the exact percentage of the Wandsworth Pension Fund that it represents is not explicitly stated, it is understood that the £1.69 million difference was immaterial.
Councillor Mrs. Kim Caddy, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, raised a question about an objection received by the auditor concerning climate-related disclosures. The objection concerns the quality and detail of climate-related disclosures across the pension fund and the joint borough council and pension fund accounts. Lazarus explained that EY is currently assessing the validity and substance of the objection, with a commitment to keep the committee informed, with an expected completion date for the assessment this month (September 2025).
EY is taking the objection through a series of criteria to understand whether to accept it and take action, or reject it if there is no substance. This includes internal consultations within EY and with organisations like the PSAA. Ben Lazarus from EY stated, I will go through a very thorough criteria assessment of whether that holds water, and I will keep committee and management up to date as we're doing that.
Paul Gelotti, Director of Finance, added that the management team did not think there was any merit to what's been put forward, but it has been referred over for somebody else to look at.
If EY determines the climate disclosure objection is valid, it could potentially cause an issue if they feel the need to investigate further or question the organisation's reporting. However, Mr. Lazarus noted that the specific balances being objected to are significantly below the pension fund materiality level, making it unlikely to cause a quantitative issue. He also mentioned that EY has a series of criteria to look at, including the qualitative element, the public interest element, and the regularity element.
