A North Yorkshire County Council pension fund invests £15m in arms companies that have built weapons for the deadly Saudi Arabia-led bombing campaign in Yemen.

The revelations come as part of a series of investigations by the Stray Ferret into controversial investments made by the North Yorkshire Pension Fund, which is controlled by the council.

The Stray Ferret obtained a full list of the companies the pension fund invests in through a freedom of information request.

The council’s pension fund is now facing renewed calls to divest from arms firms. However, its own responsible investment policy, last updated in July 2021, clearly states that it will not implement an “exclusionary policy” against companies that are deemed by some to be questionable.

It says:

“Whilst the Fund recognises that there is the potential for investment in certain sectors to cause harm, it will not implement an exclusionary policy against investment in any particular sector or company purely based on social, ethical or environmental reasons”.

Ethical questions for council

The fund has an investment worth £11m in the UK’s largest arms manufacturer BAE Systems.

Company reports analysed by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) found BAE Systems, via the UK government, has sold at least £15bn worth of arms and services to the Saudi military since the Yemen conflict began in 2015.

According to UNICEF, over 10,000 children in Yemen have been killed in the conflict, which is between a Saudi-backed Sunni group and Shia Muslims.

Professor Anna Stavrianakis is an expert on the global arms trade and is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex. She told the Stray Ferret the pension fund’s investment in BAE Systems raises ethical questions for NYCC.

She said:

“The basic ethical premise of investment is that you invest now to secure a better future for yourself. If you do that by investing funds in a company that in an extremely direct way has contributed to the deaths of other people, it is not that much of a stretch to say there’s an ethical issue there.

“If I was a council employee I would be asking where is my money being invested, and at whose expense is my future being secured? They can be painful questions to answer.”

‘Death and destruction’

North Yorkshire Pension Fund also holds £3.7m in Raytheon Technologies, an American defence company that manufacturers the controversial Paveway bomb.

Fragments of the bomb were found following a 2019 Saudi-led air strike in Yemen that killed six civilians, including three children.

A Paveway bomb being dropped. Credit – Raytheon

In 2019, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) submitted a 300-page document accusing European arms executives at firms, including BAE and Raytheon, of “aiding and abetting” alleged war crimes in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition.

Kirsten Bayes from the Campaign Against Arms Trade, called on North Yorkshire County Council to reconsider its pension fund’s investments into arms companies.

As well as BAE Systems and Raytheon, the pension fund also invests £7.3m in Safran and £6.9m in Rolls Royce, which are both major manufacturers of military equipment.

Ms Bayes said:

“Arms companies make their money from death and destruction. Council tax payers and pensioners in North Yorkshire will be shocked to learn that their funds are invested so heavily in such a violent industry.

“We would call on the trustees of the pension fund to reconsider their investments in weapons makers. Their money could instead be helping to create new, green jobs in the high growth industries of the future. That would be a better deal for everyone.”

Councillor defends the investment

Harrogate Borough Council Conservative councillor Jim Clark has sat on the Pension Fund’s committee of councillors since 2001 after a career in finance. He represents all the district councils in North Yorkshire.

He defended the investment in BAE Systems when asked by the Stray Ferret. He said the £11m holding represents a “very, very small” part of the fund’s total investments and that the fund’s main responsibility is to maximise its value, although he said “various people have different views on that”.

Cllr Jim Clark

Cllr Clark believes by remaining as an investor in companies that are deemed by some to be controversial, it can use its power to influence decision-making.

He said:

“Theres no point saying ‘just sell the shares’. If you have no shares you have no way of influencing decisions made, people tend to forget that when they make comments that haven’t been properly thought through.

“Successful companies will always listen to their shareholders. It’s very important that they do.”

Cllr Clark was unable to provide evidence of how the North Yorkshire Pension Fund has influenced decision-making at BAE Systems.

BAE Systems and council respond

The Stray Ferret approached both BAE Systems and Raytheon for comment.

A BAE Systems spokesperson said:

“We provide defence equipment, training and support under government to government agreements between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.‎ We comply with all relevant export control laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate and our activities are subject to UK government approval and oversight.”

Gary Fielding, treasurer of North Yorkshire Pension Fund for North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“The pension fund needs to get the balance right on responsible investment and ensuring funds are available to pay pensions without further call on local taxpayers.

“Rather than divesting from companies, the fund believes active engagement gives it, in collaboration with other pension funds, greater influence in effecting change within companies”.

In the final part of our investigation into the council’s pension fund, we reveal it holds over £20m in cancer-causing tobacco companies despite the council being in charge of public health.

Harrogate Borough Council officers will meet residents groups and parish councils today to discuss the long awaited West of Harrogate Parameters Plan.

The plan describes the infrastructure requirements associated with up to 4,000 new homes due to be built in the western arc of Harrogate.

A draft version of the delayed plan has now been published and circulated by the council to groups including Harlow & Pannal Ash Residents Association, North Rigton Parish Council, Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council and Zero Carbon Harrogate. The Stray Ferret has also been sent the document.

At over 100 pages long, the document paints a broad brush vision of how the area will be transformed by new housing.

It includes proposals for two new primary schools and a possible new GP surgery — which have been previously announced.

Howard West, chair of Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, told the Stray Ferret the plan lacked detail on addressing traffic and congestion.

He added:

“The parameters plan draft is in nice developer-speak but there’s no answer to the problems arising from building 4,000 homes around Harrogate’s western arc.”

Hapara and Zero Carbon Harrogate both said they would comment on the plan after today’s meeting.

Hapara previously said it was unhappy about the level of consultation offered to residents by the council during the process.

Read more:

• In Depth: Where is the infrastructure plan for 4,000 homes in west Harrogate?
• Harrogate planning committee ‘shambles and embarrassing’, says residents group

Beset by delays

The council initially said the parameters plan would be published in October 2020. But it was delayed until March 2021, then September 2021.

The draft plan is still to be ratified by the council.

A council spokesperson said:

“The development of west Harrogate provides an exciting opportunity to deliver quality place-making, a wide-range of private and affordable homes to meet the current housing demand, while also ensuring we have the necessary infrastructure to support these future communities.

“Once approved, the West of Harrogate Parameters Plan will create clear goals and objectives by identifying what infrastructure is required. For example, first-class community facilities, school provision, green infrastructure and sustainable travel opportunities.

“A number of suggestions have already helped shaped the WHPP and I’d like to thank those local residents groups and parish councils for their valuable feedback.”

A North Yorkshire County Council-controlled pension fund invests millions into fossil fuel companies whilst the council promotes carbon reduction policies, the Stray Ferret can exclusively report.

Over the last two years, the council launched its “Beyond Carbon” plan that sets a target date of 2030 to reach net-zero neutrality.

It has also been instrumental in developing sustainable travel schemes in Harrogate such as the Otley Road Cycle Path, the Station Gateway and the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

But away from the public gaze, the council is investing millions in fossil fuel companies with a pension funding policy that is directly at odds with its public messaging and sustainable transport plans.

What is a pension fund?

Staff from Harrogate Borough Council and 30 other district, city and town councils in the county pay into the North Yorkshire Pension Fund through their salary. The fund is administered by NYCC.

The council is legally obliged to invest cash from its pension fund after contributions have been collected and pensions have been paid.

It chooses to invest this into the stock market and its entire portfolio is worth over £2.7bn.

The Stray Ferret obtained a full list of the companies the pension fund invests in through a freedom of information request.

The fund has sizeable holdings in 11 fossil fuel companies

The fund has a sizeable £7m holding in oil firm Shell and £5.5m in BP, which Greenpeace has called “climate criminals” due to its contribution to climate change.

Investments also include £5m with Occidental Petroleum, which operates oil drilling rigs in the United States, Canada and Chile.

The investments mean thousands of council staff will have their retirements part-funded by the companies.

“Hypocritical”

Conservative county councillor Don Mackenzie is in charge of highways at the council and has been the public face of the various active travel schemes.

He has been quoted calling climate change a “global priority” and has repeatedly emphasised the need to move away from transport that is powered by fossil fuels.

But NYCC is now facing accusations of hypocrisy due to its massive investments into the very companies that it is trying to guide residents away from.

NYCC is behind the Beech Grove Low Traffic Neighbourhood

Andy Rickard, chair of Harrogate and District Green Party told the Stray Ferret he was “angry and frustrated” by the council’s “hypocritical” investments. He called on NYCC to divest from fossil fuel companies immediately.

He said:

“It’s hypocritical of them to produce carbon reduction strategies at the same same time as investing in companies that cause damage to the environment.”

York Liberal Democrat councillor Christian Vassie is one of 11 councillors that sit on the North Yorkshire pension fund committee. He told the Stray Ferret that “we have to sort this out”.

He said:

“People are horrified of idea their long term future is being safeguarded by [some of these companies].”

How the fund works

The pension fund is not managed directly by North Yorkshire County Council.

Instead, a private company called Border To Coast acts as the manager of the fund.

Government guidelines say council pension fund managers can take ethical, social or environmental concerns into account when it invests, providing the fund’s finances do not suffer.

However, the North Yorkshire Pension Fund’s responsible investment policy, last updated in July 2021, clearly states that it will not implement an “exclusionary policy” against companies that damage the environment.

It says:

“Whilst the Fund recognises that there is the potential for investment in certain sectors to cause harm, it will not implement an exclusionary policy against investment in any particular sector or company purely based on social, ethical or environmental reasons”.

‘Council must show courage’

Cllr Vassie joined the pension fund committee in July 2020. He also chairs York’s climate change policy and scrutiny committee.

He said he has tried to steer the fund towards greener companies, but because the primary focus of the fund is to make money, he said the fund has to be presented with alternatives that will offer at least the same financial return.

York Liberal Democrat councillor Christian Vassie

A study published ahead of the COP26 climate summit in November suggested half of the world’s fossil fuel investments could become worthless by the mid-2030s due to the transition towards net-zero.

Cllr Vassie said the pension fund needs to have “the courage of its convictions” to leave fossil fuel investments behind in favour of greener alternatives.

He warned if they don’t, the council could be left lumbered with “stranded assets”.

Addressing climate change

North Yorkshire is not alone in investing its pension fund into fossil fuels. Friends of the Earth says £10bn is invested in total by UK local authorities.

However, several councils, including Luton Borough Council and Southwark Council, have recently passed motions to set a firm date for its pension fund to divest from fossil fuels.

David Houlgate, Harrogate branch secretary at UNISON, the union that represents staff at Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, told the Stray Ferret the union has asked the Pension Fund to divest from its investments in fossil fuels.

He said it must then secure suitable alternative investments that address climate change whilst protecting the value of the fund.

Mr Houlgate added:

“UNISON is only able to try and influence the Pension Fund’s approach – we do not have the final say on these matters.”

Divest from fossil fuels

Cllr Vassie said he hopes North Yorkshire will divest from fossil fuels within the next five years, but the pension fund’s own climate change policy stops well short of making any firm commitment to divest.

It says:

“Once the Fund divests, its ability to influence both the short term and long-term direction of individual companies is severely curtailed.

“If the Fund divested from the oil and gas or other sectors with heavy carbon footprints, then it would not reduce emissions (or climate change) but rather simply shift the emissions onto another investor who may be less engaged and therefore reduce the pressure on such companies to change.

“[The Fund] considers active engagement with companies a more productive approach to effecting change.”

A BP oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Credit – BP

For campaigners like Andrew Rickard from the Harrogate and District Green Party, progress is not coming quick enough.

He said there is “little evidence” to support the fund’s claim that its “active engagement” has had any effect whatsoever on the way fossil fuel companies operate.

He added:

“Divesting from fossil fuels is the moral and right thing to do, it’s also the sensible thing to do.”

Council’s response

Gary Fielding, Treasurer of North Yorkshire Pension Fund for North Yorkshire County Council, said: 

“The Pension Fund Committee recognises climate change as a significant financial risk and this is detailed in its Responsible Investment Policy.

“The policy sets out an approach to managing assets that takes environmental, social and governance factors into account in investment decision-making and in the role an investor plays as an asset owner. 

“The pension fund’s holdings in oil and gas companies have reduced significantly in recent years.

“At the same time, the fund has committed further funds to the Borders to Coast Infrastructure Fund, which holds an ever-increasing range of renewable energy investments in the UK and abroad, including wind farms and solar power farms, geothermal energy plants and energy from waste facilities.

“The pension fund also needs to get the balance right on responsible investment and ensuring funds are available to pay pensions without further call on local taxpayers

“Rather than divesting from companies, the fund believes active engagement gives it, in collaboration with other pension funds, greater influence in effecting change within companies, such as those in the oil and gas sectors or others with heavy carbon footprints.”

Tomorrow, we reveal how the Pension Fund invests £15m in arms companies that have built weapons for the controversial Saudi Arabia-led bombing campaign in Yemen, killing thousands of civilians.

Two influential national heritage groups have issued strong objections to plans to demolish the former Debenhams building on Parliament Street in Harrogate.

Wetherby-based property company Stirling Prescient is behind a proposal to demolish three buildings and replace them with 50 high-end apartments along with two commercial units.

The site has been home to different retailers on Parliament Street for over a century. Before Debenhams, it housed the Buckley’s and Busby’s stores.

But in documents submitted to the council, the developer said the buildings need to be demolished as their size means they are no longer viable for retail.

‘Historic and architectural value’

Campaign group and charity Save Britain’s Heritage submitted an objection to the plans this week, saying the developer had failed to provide “clear or adequate justification” for demolishing the 1902 and 1920 era buildings.

Another building next to Westminster Arcade that was added in the 1960s is also set for demolition.

The group says the two older buildings have “considerable historic and architectural value” and “add greatly” to the character and significance of Parliament Street.

“No evidence or analysis has been provided to show unequivocally why the buildings cannot be retained and refurbished. Demolition is an extreme response to development in such a historic context, and therefore sets a commensurately high threshold for justification.”

Busby’s on Parliament Street. Copyright: Walker-Neesam Archive.

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Read more:

• Plans submitted to demolish former Harrogate Debenhams

• What next for Debenhams building in Harrogate?

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In December, the public body Historic England also submitted an objection to the plans.

Whilst welcoming the regeneration of the site, it said there should be a “sensitive conversion” of the two older department store buildings.

It said:

“We have particular concerns over the proposed demolition of the early 20th century buildings on the corner of Oxford Street and Parliament Street contributing positively to the appearance and character of the conservation area, for which there is no clear and convincing justification.”

A CGI view of the new apartments on Parliament Street.

Stirling Prescient said in planning documents:

“The proposals as a whole will strengthen the town’s vitality and viability, increasing footfall and contributing to the local economy.

“The proposal represents a sustainable form of development and therefore benefits from the presumption in favour of sustainable development, meaning planning permission should be granted without delay.”

The number of people receiving out-of-work benefits in the Harrogate district has continued to fall.

Latest monthly figures by the Office for National Statistics show 2,145 people were claiming the benefits on December 9, falling by 80 from November’s figure of 2,225.

The figure, however, remains considerably above pre-pandemic levels. In January 2020, 1,410 people claimed the benefits, which includes Universal Credit.

Universal Credit can also be claimed by people who are in work but on low incomes.

The furlough scheme ended on September 30 and supported around 28,600 jobs in the Harrogate district for 18 months.

Read more:

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• Harrogate College meets local firms to fix skills gap

Meanwhile, this month Harrogate College announced it will be offering free haircuts and manicures to jobseekers.

The college, at Hornbeam Park, is providing the treatments to anyone who has secured a job interview.

Haircuts can be booked now between 3pm and 7pm on Wednesdays. Manicures will be available on Thursdays, starting on January 27, from 10am.

Students will provide the services at the college’s professional standard training salons.

Danny Wild, principal of Harrogate College, said he hoped the initiative would boost the participants’ job prospects.

Budding entrepreneurs in the Harrogate district can take part in a free seven-week project to help them hone their business skills and win a £2,500 prize.

The Strive project is being run by social enterprise Enterprise Cube, which will have a team of experienced business people on hand to guide 30 local people through a series of workshops, individual advice sessions and start-up challenges.

It is being part-funded by Harrogate Borough Council and is free to anyone in the Harrogate district who has a business idea or a fledgling business.

Read more:

• Harrogate can be economic driver for North Yorkshire after devolution, says council chief
• Harrogate vegans on Veganuary, restaurants and why they chose plant-based diets

During the seven weeks, the group will learn about creating a brand, taking payments, building an online presence, and tackling all the legal and tax issues involved in starting a business. £2,500 will be handed out in prizes at the end of the seven weeks.

Strive was first run in 2012 and has supported over 5,000 people in the UK.

Laura Mumford, director of Strive, said:

“We’re really excited to be bringing Strive to Harrogate. My roots are here, and I love that we’ve got such a strong independent business scene in the area – so it’s great to be able to support it.”

You can find out more and apply at: www.homeofstrive.com/harrogate.

Members of a historic club that teaches children how to swim in Ripon say they are “mortified” they won’t be able to use the city’s £15m new pool after Harrogate Borough Council tripled its fee to use it, effectively outpricing them.

Ripon City Swimming Club began by teaching swimming lessons in the River Ure before the Spa Baths was built in 1904, which its members helped to build.

Since the 1930s, the volunteer-run club ran classes on Thursday evenings at the Spa Baths. The swimming lessons were run separately from HBC’s own classes, with the council charging the club £4,500 a year to use the pool.

Families were looking forward to being able to use the pool at the state-of-the-art Jack Laugher Leisure Centre, which is set to open this month.

However, the club was left shocked after the council offered space at the new pool, but only if it stumped up £12,500 a year — almost three times what it was previously paying.

Nicola Horner, speaking on behalf of the Ripon City Swimming Club committee, told the Stray Ferret that HBC has “completely outpriced” the swimming club from using it. She believes the council views the volunteer-run club as competition to its own classes.

She added:

“For such a long-standing club to be outpriced, it’s disgusting.”

Different generations

Ripon City Swimming Club’s teachers are all Swim England qualified. The council initially told the club it wanted to amalgamate it with its own swimming lessons, but the club declined.

Ms Horner said they wanted to keep the family-oriented club separate from the council.

“We’re volunteers, we charge kids for the use of the pool but we keep prices low for families.

“Different generations have learnt to swim with us.”

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With the club unable to pay the £12,500 a year that the council was demanding, it looked like the historic club would have to fold.

But Ripon Grammar School has offered the club space to continue lessons at the school’s pool on Tuesday nights.

Although the club has found a new home, Ms Horner said the move by the council to drastically increase its fee stings as its members supported and campaigned for its bid to build the new pool.

She said:

“We are all mortified. Whilst we’re grateful we’ve been able to find somewhere, we are absolutely gutted we won’t be able to use the new facility.”

Council’s response

Brimhams Active is the new council-controlled company that has taken over leisure centres in the Harrogate district, including the Hydro in Harrogate and Knaresborough Swimming Pool.

A spokesperson for Brimhams Active said:

“Our Learn to Swim programme that is accredited by Swim England – the governing body for swimming – teaches swimmers how to be competent and confident in the water, and follows a recognised framework that provides a love for swimming and the skills and motivation required to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. It also provides reassurance to our customers that they will receive the highest level of coaching and safety standards.

“We have offered to work with Ripon City Swimming Club, enable them to fit into this district-wide development pathway and become a Swim England accredited recreational swimming club for children who have completed the fundamentals of our Learn to Swim programme.

“The club have also been offered the use of the pool at the same rate they were previously paying, should they wish to work with us and accept this offer.

“Should the club not wish to accept this offer, they are welcome to explore the hire of the pool at the commercial rate.”

Harrogate Borough Council has this week submitted a plan to build a pet crematorium at Stonefall Cemetery.

It follows the lead of councils in North East Lincolnshire and Barnsley, which have already opened or started work on pet crematoriums.

Harrogate council currently charges £36 to collect dead pets from people’s homes.

Currently, the closest pet crematoriums are in either Thirsk or Skipton.

The crematorium at Harrogate would be built inside a converted shipping container.

The plans also include converting a storage building at Stonefall into a “goodbye room”, where owners can say their final farewells to their pets before they are cremated.

A decision on the proposal will be made at a later date.

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A major five-year project to upgrade infrastructure at RAF Menwith Hill is planned.

The Ministry of Defence’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) this week appointed a consortium of building consultants, Mace, Turner & Townsend and Atkins, as a delivery partner for the United States Visiting Forces (USVF) Infrastructure Programme.

Few details have been made public about the programme other than it will involve “upgrading existing facilities and building new ones” at the base in Nidderdale as well as RAF Fairford in Gloucester.

Steve Rix, DIO programme director, said the programme would help the US military “execute missions” from the UK.

“I am pleased to welcome our delivery partners to the DIO USVF Infrastructure Programme team and look forward to working with them to ensure we continue to support our USVF customers’ needs, enabling them to execute missions from their bases in the UK.”

The Stray Ferret asked the MOD how much the project will cost and what upgrades are planned but we did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Read more:

• Menwith Hill involved in ‘significant number’ of deadly US drone strikes

• Upset and anger at plans to remove MP’s memorial tree at Menwith Hill

Built in the 1950s on the edge of Nidderdale, Menwith Hill is one of the United States’ largest overseas surveillance base. Giant radomes, or ‘golf balls’, are a distinctive feature of the site.

Harrogate Borough Council has approved several planning applications in recent years to expand the base. A council report said this reflected the “increasingly wide-ranging and technologically sophisticated surveillance apparatus” built up at the base.

A report published in October 2021 alleged the base provided intelligence for the high-profile US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

An extra 350 children in Harrogate district secondary schools have become eligible for free school meals since the coronavirus pandemic began, figures reveal.

A total of 1,143 children were eligible in October 2021, compared with 796 in January 2020.

This means almost 1 in 10 children in the district are now eligible for free school meals. The national average is around 2 in 10.

The Stray Ferret obtained the figures from a freedom of information request to North Yorkshire County Council, the education authority for the district.

To qualify for free school meals a parent must apply to the council with evidence that they are receiving a benefit, such as child tax credit, income support or universal credit.

The issue of free school meals was highlighted following a campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.

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Speaking at last week’s Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee, Helen Ingle, health improvement manager at NYCC, said the council was trying to encourage parents of key stage 1 age children to take up free school meals.

If a child is in reception, year one or year two they are automatically entitled to a free school meal.

Ms Ingle also said schools in the district had reported an increase in obesity since the pandemic began.

She said:

“[Covid] has had a massive impact on levels of overweight and obesity, we’re doing a lot of work around that. Schools are very concerned about healthy eating levels in schools and have noticed a change in children’s weight and eatings habits since covid.”