Citation, commencement and extent

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Local Government Pension Scheme and Management and Investment of Funds (Amendment) Regulations 2005.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales( 2 ).

(3) These Regulations shall come into force on 17th August 2005, but the amendment made by regulation 7 shall have effect from 1st February 2005; the amendments made by regulations 3, 5 and 6 shall have effect from 1st October 2004 in England and 10th November 2004 in Wales.

The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997

2.The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 1997( 3 ) shall be amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 7.

Further restrictions on eligibility

3. In regulation 6 (further restrictions on eligibility), in paragraph 9, for the words “Part-time employment as a member of a fire brigade maintained in pursuance of the Fire Services Act 1947 on terms under which the employee is or may be required to engage in fire fighting does not entitle the employee to be a member of the Scheme.” substitute—

• “ Retained or volunteer membership with a fire and rescue authority (within the meaning given to that term by section 1 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004) on terms under which the retained or volunteer member is or may be required to engage in fire-fighting does not entitle the retained or volunteer member to be a member of the Scheme. ” .

First instance decisions

4. In regulation 97(14) (first instance decisions)( 4 ), for sub-paragraph (b) substitute—

“ (b) “qualified in occupational health medicine” means—

(i) holding a diploma in occupational medicine (D Occ Med) or an equivalent qualification issued by a competent authority in an EEA State; and for the purposes of this definition, “competent authority” has the meaning given by the General and Specialist Medical Practice (Education, Training and Qualification) Order 2003 ( 5 ) ; or

(ii) being an Associate, a Member or a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine ( 6 ) or an equivalent institution of an EEA State. ” .

Interpretation

5. In Schedule 1 (interpretation), in the definition of “Scheme managers”, insert “and rescue” after “fire”.

Scheme employers: fire and rescue authorities

6. In Schedule 2 (Scheme employers), for the words from “A fire authority” to “by section 27 of that Act” substitute—

• “ A fire and rescue authority within the meaning of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. ” .

Scheme employers: conservation boards

7. In Schedule 2 (Scheme employers), add at the end—

• “ A conservation board established under section 86 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 ( 7 ) . ” .

The Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 1998

8.The Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 1998( 8 ) shall be amended in accordance with regulations 9 to 11.

9. After regulation 11A(3) (requirements for increased limits)( 9 ) insert—

“ (3A) Where there is a decision to use the increased limits under regulation 11(2A) in relation to row 11 of Schedule 1, Part I, the additional risks of the increased limit must have been taken into account in addition to those factors set out in regulation 11A(3). ” .

10. In regulation 11A(6)(a) (requirement for increased limits), replace “(2) and (3)” with “(2), (3) and (3A)”.

11. In Schedule 1 (limits on investments), in Part I, for the contents of the box at row 11 (all securities transferred (or agreed to be transferred) by the authority under stock lending arrangements) and column (2) (increased limits under regulation 11(2A)) of the table substitute “35%”.