The ACCESS Joint Committee met on Monday 16 June 2025.

In accordance with the ACCESS pool’s Inter-Authority Agreement, elections were held for the position of both Chairman and Vice Chairman.

In unanimous decisions, the Joint Committee elected Cllr Susan Barker of the Essex Pension Fund (formerly Vice Chairman) as the new Chairman, and Cllr Gerard Fox of the East Sussex Pension Fund as the new Vice Chairman.

ACCESS Joint Committee Chairman Cllr Susan Barker said:

“I am honoured to have been elected to the position of Chairman of the ACCESS Joint Committee and am extremely grateful for the trust which my fellow Members have placed in me.

I would like to pay particular thanks to our previous Chairman Cllr Mark Kemp-Gee of the Hampshire Pension Fund. In more than five years in the role, he led the Committee through the expansion of our pool’s listed and non-listed asset offerings, the implications of the COVID pandemic and more recently the Government consultation on LGPS: Fit for the future. We are all also grateful that Cllr Kemp-Gee will continue to represent Hampshire on the Committee and know that we will benefit from his experience and insight in the coming months.

The challenges faced by the eleven ACCESS Authorities at this time in respect of asset pooling are well documented. However, I am confident that we shall continue to collaborate effectively using an evidence-based approach to chart the way forward in the best interests of our respective stakeholders.”

ACCESS joint Committee Vice Chairman Cllr Fox said:

“It is a privilege to have been elected to this position and I would like to thank the Committee for their confidence they have placed in me. I look forward to supporting Cllr Barker and all Committee Members during a key time for our pool and its stakeholders.”