Pension Fund Governance
Strength of lead: Strong — documented Section 114 notice, conflict of interest overlap, anti-divestment pattern
Summary
Mark Shooter chaired the Barnet Pension Fund Committee from June 2014 to May 2022, overseeing one of the largest LGPS funds in London (assets exceeding £1.5 billion). During his chairmanship: an unlawful £20.5 million payment was made to the fund; Capita’s administration produced 6,000+ data errors and the first-ever Pensions Regulator fine; and he simultaneously held directorships at a company with Israeli property investments. No Barnet councillors signed the 2026 London CIV Israel divestment campaign.
Key Facts
Unlawful Payment — Section 114 Notice
- In April 2020, an unlawful £20.5 million prepayment was made to the pension fund without proper authorisation
- This was during Shooter’s chairmanship
- Led to a Section 114 notice in January 2025 — a formal declaration that the council cannot balance its budget
- Section 114 notices are extremely rare and represent a governance crisis
Source: Barnet Post
Capita Administration Failures
- 6,000+ data errors in pension records
- Fraud by Capita employees
- 2017: First-ever Pensions Regulator fine against a public service scheme
- 2019: Improvement notice issued
- All occurred under Shooter’s chairmanship of the pension committee
Source: Pensions Expert
Conflict of Interest: Israel Business + Pension Fund
- Pension Fund Chairman: June 2014 – May 2022
- Gold Wynn UK Director: from May 2020
- Overlap period: May 2020 – May 2022 (2 years)
- Gold Wynn has three Israeli property investments
- The Israel connection of Gold Wynn would not be apparent from the council register of interests — he declared “Goldwynn UK Holdings Limited (Director)” but not the company’s Israeli operations
Anti-Divestment Pattern
- Rejected fossil fuel divestment (2018): When Mayor Khan requested London borough pension funds divest, Shooter said: “I don’t think it’s a good idea at the moment to alter our investment strategy per se because we are invested in trackers”
- No Barnet councillors signed the 2026 London CIV Israel divestment letter: 150+ London councillors from other boroughs signed demanding divestment from companies “complicit in Israel’s crimes” — zero from Barnet
- IHRA adoption (2017): Barnet was the first UK council to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism
- BDS ban motion (2018): Councillor Brian Gordon proposed banning BDS-supporting organisations from council premises
London CIV Israel Exposure
- The Barnet Pension Fund pools investments through the London CIV
- Campaign group “Shake the CIV” claims £7 billion exposure to companies “complicit in Israel’s crimes” including ~£1B in arms manufacturers and £10M in Elbit Systems
- LCIV disputes: says actively managed exposure is £713 million (4%) with 85% being Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft; £6.5B is in passive strategies outside their control
Sources: Barnet Post; Hackney Citizen
Strategic Value
- The Section 114 notice is the hardest fact — an unlawful payment during Shooter’s watch
- The conflict of interest (pension chair + Israel business interests) is a legitimate governance question even without direct evidence of improper investment decisions
- The anti-divestment pattern (rejecting fossil fuel divestment, zero Barnet signatories on the Israel divestment letter, IHRA adoption, BDS ban motion) creates a narrative of institutional resistance to any scrutiny of Israel-related investments
- The Capita failures demonstrate that governance under Shooter’s chairmanship was already compromised before the Gold Wynn overlap began