The Kingston Council has committed to reviewing all its pension fund investments to identify any holdings in companies allegedly complicit in international law and human rights violations in Palestine and across the world.

The review will start at the end of this month (July) and aims to make recommendations to the Pension Fund Panel in time for its meeting on 17 September 2025.

The council further committed to full transparency by writing to all petitioners following the panel's consideration of the recommendations.

It also unanimously agreed to establish a cross-party task and finish group to take forward the review. 

This decision was made at a meeting of the full council earlier this week (8 July), which followed the receipt of a petition signed by 1,578 people, including over 1,232 residents of Kingston.

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Pension Fund covers employees of the Kingston Council, other than teachers, and certain other specified bodies including Kingston University and Kingston College.

The council has a duty to ensure that the fund’s assets which are not needed immediately to pay pension benefits are suitably invested.

It carries out this function through the Pension Fund Panel, which reports to the Policy and Resources Committee.

---