Lambeth Council's Pensions Committee has agreed to delegate the final approval of its annual report to the committee's Chair, a decision met with reservations from some members. The move, made during a meeting on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, was prompted by the committee's meeting schedule not aligning with the publication deadline for the final audited report.

The draft Annual Report for 2024/25 was presented, which included the statement of accounts (still in draft form and subject to audit) and several narrative sections. The final audited version is expected to be published after the audit is completed, hopefully before the February 2026 deadline. The audit itself had been deferred to November 2025, with a draft version of the report having been published on 1 December 2025.

Concerns were raised about the delegation of authority, with one member stating it made no sense to grant approval authority before the Chair had written their own section of the report. Members emphasised that this was a reasonable expectation in the interests of transparency and accountability, and that they could not approve a document containing blank sections, though they could give draft approval for the parts already completed.

The Chair's specific section of the report is an introductory foreword summarising the Pensions Committee's and Pensions Board's activities over the year, along with the Section 151 officer's overview of the fund. Members requested that this section report on the committee's activities, include reference to the fund's improved actuarial position, and mention the committee's debates concerning Palestine and Israel, among other general matters.

Despite these reservations, the committee resolved to note the draft Annual Report and delegate the approval of the final audited report and financial statements to the Chair. The resolution passed with five votes in favour and one abstention. The members of the Pensions Committee include Councillor Scott Ainslie, Councillor Martin Bailey (Chair), Councillor Judith Cavanagh, Councillor Sarah Cole, and Councillor Martin Tiedemann (Vice-Chair). Co-optees were Sonja Baralic, Simon Hannah, and Peter Woodward, with substitute members Councillor Diogo Costa and Councillor Joe Dharampal-Hornby.

The full details of the meeting and the reports discussed can be found in the Public reports pack.