New LGPS governance and pooling regs

Two significant LGPS statutory instruments were laid before Parliament yesterday.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (Governance) Regulations 2026 introduce a new governance framework for administering authorities, including mandatory governance, training and conflicts documents, a senior LGPS officer, an independent person, knowledge and understanding requirements, administration strategies and independent governance reviews aligned with valuation cycles.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (Pooling, Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2026 replace the 2016 Investment Regulations and give legal effect to the government’s LGPS pooling reforms. They provide for a stronger statutory role for pools in implementing investment strategy, a new accountability structure within administering authorities, and powers for the Secretary of State in relation to governance reviews and, ultimately, intervention where serious governance concerns arise.

Both sets of regulations, which can be found here, are due to come into force on 30 June 2026.