Tobacco fund row ignites council leader’s ire (From Oxford Mail)

Tobacco fund row ignites council leader’s ire

8:00am Thursday 16th February 2012 in News By Oliver Evans

Keith Mitchell

OXFORDSHIRE County Council leader Keith Mitchell says he is happy the county’s local government pension fund is profiting from “stupid smokers”.

The Oxford Mail revealed on Monday that the fund for the county’s councils has £20m invested in two tobacco giants.

The pension fund is administered by the county council and critics said the cash conflicted with councils’ responsibilities to urge people to quit.

But the county council leader hit back at the Oxford Mail for printing the story, quoting Stanley Baldwin’s attack on newspapers having power without responsibility like a “harlot”.

He said he was happy with the fund’s decision to invest in British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco.

He said: “Full marks to the pension fund trustees for choosing a winning investment in tobacco.

“If people are stupid enough to smoke tobacco it is no reason why this should not benefit county council employees in building their pension pots.”

The outspoken leader said trustees of the Oxfordshire Pension Fund had a responsibility to get the best returns “within what is legal”.

The Conservative wrote on his blog: “I know from my own investments that some of the best performing shares at the moment are in tobacco and oil as well as high-tech stocks.”

Poor performing investments risk taxpayers having to bail out pensions, he warned.

Oxfordshire fund guidance says returns are the “principal concern” but “social, environmental and ethical considerations” must be taken.

While fund managers suggest investments, the final decisions are left to the councillor-led pension fund committee.

Next year councils will get a key role on “health and wellbeing boards”, to take on responsibility for promoting good health. The county council also part funds the post of the county’s director of health Dr Jonathan McWilliam, who last month said quitting smoking was the best thing anyone could do for their health.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of anti-smoking charity Ash, said: “It beggars belief for the leader of the council to call smokers “stupid”.

“Does he not know that smoking is highly addictive and deadly and worse still the vast majority of smokers become addicted while they are still children?”

The fund is not bound by law to maximise returns and it is “entirely legitimate to take ethical considerations into account” she said.

The £1.2bn fund’s largest company investment is £11.3m in British American Tobacco with £8.5m also in Imperial Tobacco. In 2010/11, taxpayers put in £66.5m while employees put in £20.2m.

City GP and doctors’ leader Dr Paul Roblin said: “I would expect the leader of the council to make a slightly more responsible comment than that.”

Dr Roblin, chief executive of the British Medical Association’s Oxfordshire Local Medical Committee, said: “They would have to an overriding reason to make that investment.

It runs counter to one of the responsibilities of the council, which is to protect the health of its population.”

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