MINUTES of a meeting of the Pension Committee held at County Hall, Lewes on 30 November 2020.
++Please note that the Members joined the meeting remotely++
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PRESENT |
Councillor Gerard Fox (Chair) Councillors Nigel Enever, Andy Smith, David Tutt and Trevor Webb |
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ALSO PRESENT |
Ian Gutsell, Chief Finance Officer Sian Kunert, Head of Pensions Russell Wood, Pensions Manager: Investment and Accounting Paul Punter, Head of Pensions Administration Dave Kellond, Compliance and Local Improvement Manager Nigel Chilcott, Audit Manager Danny Simpson, Principal Auditor William Bourne, Independent Adviser Paul Potter, Hymans Robertson Robert McInroy, Hymans Robertson Ian Colvin, Hymans Robertson Philip McCloy, Northern Trust Harvey Winder, Democratic Services Officer Martin Jenks, Senior Democratic Services Adviser
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42 Minutes
42.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2020 were agreed as a correct record.
43 Apologies for absence
43.1 There were no apologies for absence.
44 Disclosure of Interests
44.1 Cllr David Tutt declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in item 20 as the Leader of Eastbourne Borough Council, which is involved in an ongoing admission agreement with a sub-contractor. Cllr Tutt did not take part in the discussion during that item.
45 Urgent items
45.1 There were no urgent items.
46 Pension Board Minutes
46.1 The Committee considered the minutes of the Pension Board meeting held on 16 November 2020.
46.2 The Committee RESOLVED to note the minutes.
47 Investment Report
47.1 The Committee considered a report providing an update on the investment activities undertaken by the East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF).
47.2 The Committee’s discussion included the following key issues:
47.3 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1) note the Action Log and Investment Workplan (Appendix 1);
2) note the Quarterly Investment Report from the Investment Advisor, Hymans Robertson (Appendix 2);
3) agree the revised Investment Strategy Statement (Appendix 4); and
4) note the content of this report
5) Agree to ask the new investment advisors to review the remaining 10% of assets held in regional index equities.
48 Independent Auditors Report on the Pension Fund Account and Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20
48.1 The Committee considered a report presenting the Independent Auditor (Grant Thornton) report to those charged with governance, and reporting on anticipated unqualified audit opinion on the 2019/20 Pension Fund Annual Report.
48.2 It was clarified that there has been a delay in the Independent Auditor, Grant Thornton, issuing its audit opinion, but this is due to their own internal processes and not the ESPF.
48.3 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1. note the draft Independent Auditor’s (Grant Thornton - GT) report to those charged with governance on Pension Fund Annual Report 2019/20;
2. approve the draft Pension Fund Annual Report for publication.
49 Governance and Employer Engagement Report
49.1 The Committee considered a report providing an update on various governance and employer engagement work completed and changes affecting the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) generally and ESPF specifically.
49.2 It was clarified that the new governance structure of the ESPF has been based on best practice published by the Scheme Advisory Board. It is hoped it will be effective, but any areas that are not currently addressed – for example, whether it is a conflict of interest for the Section 151 officer to be both the responsible officer for the administering authority of the Fund and a Chief Finance Officer of an employer of the Fund – could be revisited in the future.
49.3 The Committee RESOLVED to:
(1) Approve the ACCESS Pool Amended and Re-stated Inter- Authority Agreement (IAA) (Appendix 1);
(2) Note the update to the ACCESS link operator agreement;
(3) Approve the Pension Fund Conflict of Interests Policy (Appendix 2);
(4) Note the update on the McCloud Working Group;
(5) Approve Option 3 approach for classification and inclusion of employers for ill health insurance implementation as set out in 2.16 and Appendix 6;
(6) Note the draft Employer Forum agenda (Appendix 7);
(7) Note the progress in recruitment to the Pension Fund team and initiation of review of communications (Appendix 8); and
(8) thank Russell Wood for his work over the past 18 months whilst the new Pension Fund Team has been developed.
50 Pensions Administration report
50.1 The Committee considered a report providing an update to the Pension Committee on matters relating to Pensions Administration activities.
50.2 It was clarified that this year 1,296 Annual Benefit Statements (ABS) were not produced compared to 15k last year and the figure is now comparable to other administering authorities. The reduction in unproduced statements is largely as the result of a member tracing exercise that found addresses for a large number of gone away deferred members. There will be a repeat tracing exercise on a bi-annual basis from now on to help ensure the number stays low.
50.3 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1) Note the updates;
2) Note the progress of management in implementing the agreed actions arising from the internal audit report (Appendix 7);
3) Note the proposed Pension Administration Team (PAT) structure and estimated costs following transition from share service arrangements (Appendix 3).
51 Internal Audit Report: Pension Fund: Governance, Strategy and Investments 2019/20
51.1 The Committee considered a report on the outcome of the Internal Audit report: Governance, Strategy and Investments 2019/20
51.2 The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.
52 East Sussex Pension Fund Quarterly budget report
52.1 The Committee considered a report on the 2020/21 business plan at Quarter 2 for the ESPF.
52.2 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1. note the revised forecast outturn position; and
2. note the update on deliverables from the Business Plan in Appendix 1
53 Annual Training Plan 2020/21
53.1 The Committee considered a report on the Annual Training Plan for the Pension Board and Pension Committee.
53.2 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1. Note the report from Hymans on the Knowledge Assessment results;
2. note the suggested training areas for the Annual training plan;
3. recommend that training is delivered in one-hour slots, three times per quarter; and
4) request that individual scores are provided to members who are interested in receiving them.
54 Risk Register
54.1 The Committee considered the Risk Register for the ESPF
54.2 It was discussed that there appeared to be a number of risks that continued to appear red after mitigations had been put in place. The risk register is in the process of being reviewed to ensure that the strategy for risk mitigation is effective, the format of the risk register is appropriate, and the scores of different risks are correct.
54.3 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1) note the Risk Register; and
2) note that the Risk Register is being reviewed.
55 Work programme
55.1 The Committee considered its work programme.
55.2 The Committee discussed the benefit of holding an additional meeting each year due to the large volume of items considered at each meeting.
55.3 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1) agree the work programme; and
2) request an additional meeting is held for the 2021/22 calendar year.
56 Exclusion of the public and press
56.1 The Committee RESOLVED to exclude the public and press from the meeting for the remaining agenda item on the grounds that if the public and press were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as specified in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).
57 Investment working group update
57.1 The Committee considered a report providing an update on the activities of the Investment Working Group.
57.2 A summary of the discussion is set out in an exempt minute.
57.3 The Committee RESOLVED to note the report
58 Procurement of Pensions Administration software
58.1 The Committee considered a report on the procurement of Pension Administration Software.
58.2 A summary of the discussion is set out in an exempt minute.
58.3 The Committee RESOLVED to agree actions which are set out in an exempt minute.
59 East Sussex Pension Fund Breaches Log
59.1 The Committee considered the ESPF breaches log.
59.2 The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.
60 Employer Admissions and Cessations
60.1 The Committee considered a report on the latest admissions and cessations of employers within the ESPF.
60.2 The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.
61 Independent Advisor to the Pension Fund
61.1 The Committee considered a report on the Independent Advisor to the Pension Fund.
61.2 The Committee RESOLVED to agree the recommendations as set out in the report.
The meeting ended at 1.55 pm.
Councillor Gerard Fox (Chair)