The Government has made a narrowly drawn statutory instrument to ensure the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority is covered by the 2026 elected member pension changes. The Local Government Pension Scheme (Elected Member Pensions) (Consequential Amendment) Regulations 2026, S.I. 2026/410, were made on 14 April 2026, laid before Parliament on 15 April, and come into force on 11 May 2026. The Regulations were made by the Secretary of State under sections 1, 3 and 25 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. The instrument records that consultation was carried out under section 21(2) of the 2013 Act and that Treasury consent was given before signature.
The amendment focuses on paragraph 7 of the Schedule to the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026, S.I. 2026/362. It changes the paragraph heading from remuneration to remuneration and pensions, and inserts a new provision dealing with pension entitlement where the authority pays a relevant allowance. That new provision states three things. First, a person who receives a relevant allowance is entitled to a pension under a scheme made under section 1 of the 2013 Act. Secondly, the allowance must be treated as pensionable under that scheme. Thirdly, the Combined County Authority must make any payments required in respect of the pension attached to that allowance.
The drafting also defines the boundary of the change. A relevant allowance means an allowance paid under the authority's remuneration arrangements other than travel and subsistence. That keeps routine expenses outside pension calculations while bringing office-related allowances within scope. For payroll and scheme administration, that distinction matters. From 11 May, qualifying allowances paid by the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority will need to be identified separately from expenses so that pension treatment and employer funding are applied correctly.
According to the Explanatory Note, S.I. 2026/410 sits alongside the Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (Elected Member Pensions) Regulations 2026, S.I. 2026/346. That earlier instrument amended the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 to extend Scheme membership to elected members of local authorities in England, particularly mayors and members of combined county authorities. S.I. 2026/346 also made consequential amendments across the legal instruments establishing combined authorities, so that relevant allowances would be treated as pensionable and authorities would meet the related employer costs. The Sussex and Brighton amendment is a further consequential change because S.I. 2026/362 was laid before Parliament, but made after, the earlier pension regulations.
The policy effect is modest but necessary. Without this follow-on instrument, the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority would not have contained the same pension wording applied to other combined authorities brought within the 2026 reform package. The new Regulations therefore serve an equal-treatment function rather than creating a separate pension policy for Sussex and Brighton. For elected members, the practical result is that qualifying allowances paid by the authority are brought into the pensionable pay position intended by the wider 2026 reforms. For the authority, the legal position is equally clear: it must meet employer contributions and any other payments required to fund the pension benefits linked to those allowances.
The Explanatory Note states that no impact assessment has been produced because no impact, or no significant impact, is expected on the private or voluntary sectors. That reflects the limited reach of the instrument, which adjusts the internal remuneration and pension arrangements of a public body rather than placing new duties on businesses or charities. Although the Regulations extend to England and Wales, their operative effect is tied to a named authority in England. The instrument was signed on behalf of the Secretary of State by Alison McGovern, Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, on 14 April 2026, following Treasury consent signed by Christian Wakeford and Stephen Morgan on 13 April.
For local government officers, pension administrators and monitoring teams, the main requirement before commencement is administrative readiness. Remuneration policies, payroll coding and pension contribution processes will need to reflect that relevant allowances are pensionable from 11 May 2026, while travel and subsistence remain outside that treatment. The broader point is procedural. Secondary legislation of this kind is often needed when a wider reform programme meets the creation of a new authority on a slightly different timetable. S.I. 2026/410 does not reopen the elected member pension policy settled earlier in 2026; it closes a drafting gap so that Sussex and Brighton is treated consistently with the rest of the system.