A FORMER Bradford mayor has criticised the decision to invest hundreds of millions of the local pension fund in tobacco stocks.

The criticism, by Councillor Geoff Reid (Lib Dem, Eccleshill), comes after a national report revealed that the West Yorkshire Pension Fund has £284 million invested in tobacco stocks - the highest amount of any pension fund in the UK.

He questioned why the fund was investing so heavily in the tobacco industry when Bradford had a higher than average rate for people dying due to smoking related illnesses.

The report was carried out by a national newspaper, and followed over 100 Freedom of Information requests to the groups that run the UK's pension funds.

Managed by Bradford Council, WYPF oversees the pensions of groups including Bradford, Leeds, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield Councils. It currently has 286,000 members, and is worth £13.5 billion.

The Fund has shares in companies as varied as Burberry, Ladbrokes and Carlsberg, and among its £284m shares in the tobacco industry are £155,945,250 in British American Tobacco.

Cllr Reid said: “Bradford’s smoking death rate is 350 per 100,000 population. The average rate for England is 272. Our Council manages a Fund which has £284m invested in tobacco.

"When I questioned this in July I was told that maximising income was paramount.

"It now appears that several serious investment professionals are saying that there are long-term risks threatening the tobacco industry, which sheds a fresh light on the standard answer about maximising income. Meanwhile other local authorities such as Greater Manchester have already decided to exit tobacco for ethical and social reasons.

"It is time for fresh thinking within the Fund which Bradford administers. The Council has got to resolve the contradiction between its public health policies and support for the investment policy. Ensuring that people get a decent pension can be done without contributing to above average smoking deaths.

"A radical review of investments would offer a breath of fresh air to Bradford District.”

A West Yorkshire Pension Fund spokesperson said: "WYPF is the third largest English Local Government Pension Scheme, so it is to be expected that compared to smaller pensions funds, it will have a relatively high investment in a whole range of sectors including this one. Unlike other pension funds WYPF is fully transparent, disclosing all its holdings, and does not make use of any passive funds where tobacco holdings would not be visible.

"The Tobacco sector is one of the higher dividend paying sectors (it pays over two per cent more than the market average), which provides the cash to pay pensions, which for WYPF average just £5,300 per annum, or £103 per week. This is the weekly pay that bin men, cleaners, and social care workers, to name but a few, rely on in their old age.

"The primary duty and legal responsibility remains that of ensuring the Fund is in a sound financial position, and able to pay the benefits expected by pensioners. We do have a publicly available Socially Responsible Investment policy. WYPF’s Investment Strategy Statement, including its policy on Socially Responsible Investment, was approved by the Fund’s Investment Advisory Panel in April 2017."