Issue - meetings

29.1     The Committee considered a report providing an update on the Good Governance review.

29.2     The Committee’s discussion included the following key issues:

• The Chairs of the Board and Committee and officers are to be commended for their work on the Good Governance review.
• The responsibility for communication with employers needs to be clarified within the Pension Team structure, as it is not currently clear where it sits, e.g., under the Pension Fund Team or the Pension Administration Team, which is currently provided by Orbis Joint Services but is due to come back inhouse.

29.3     The Committee RESOLVED to agree the deliverables as set out in paragraph 2.1 of the report.

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27.       

27.1.      The Board considered a report on the second tranche of the Good Governance review.

27.2.      The Chair explained to the Board he had been involved in the development of the revised strategies presented in the report and assured the Board a lot of time and effort had been put into them. He extended his thanks to all officers involved in producing the documents.

27.3.      The Chair asked whether penalties had ever been applied to employers, as set out in the East Sussex Pension Fund (ESPF) Pensions Administration Strategy 2020.

27.4.      Ian Gutsell (IG) explained that penalties have not previously been applied to any employer. The purpose of the new strategy is to ensure there would be a degree of engagement with an employer first before a decision to levy costs is made.

27.5.      The Chair explained that appendix B contained the legal timescales for which a list of processes must be met relating to the administration of the Fund. The plan in the future is to create realistic key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Pension Administration team (PAT) based on these timescales. The KPIs will require the PAT to achieve the majority of these tasks within a shorter amount of time than the legal deadline and overdue cases will be classed as those that fall between the KPI and the legal deadline, meaning they miss the KPI but are not in breach of regulations.

27.6.      The Chair explained setting out a scheme employer’s responsibilities in appendix C was important as it ensured they are aware of the requirements placed on them and therefore the potential to be charged for additional costs if they fail to uphold the responsibilities.

27.7.      Stephen Osborn (SO), as an employer representative, said he was comfortable with the list of responsibilities.

27.8.      IG explained that the Administering Authority would begin consulting with employers about the new Administration Strategy at the Employer Forum in November.

27.9.      The Board RESOLVED to note the report.

8.1          The Committee considered a report providing an update on the Good Governance review, seeking endorsement of the Terms of reference of the Pension Committee, terms of reference of the Pension Board, and revised Council Scheme of Delegations; and agreement of the Communication Strategy and Breaches Policy and log.

8.2          The Committee RESOLVED to:

1) endorse the:

• Pension Committee Terms of Reference (appendix 2)

• Pension Board Terms of Reference (appendix 3)

• Revised Council Scheme of Delegations to incorporate Pension Fund management(appendix 4); and

2) agree the:

• Communication Strategy (appendix 5)

• Breaches Policy and log (appendix 6)

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7.         

7.1.        The Board considered a report providing an update on the Good Governance review of the ESPF.

7.2.        The Chair reminded the Board that they had been through the documents in detail at an earlier briefing and were pleased with their content.

7.3.        Diana Pogson (DP) requested that a briefing be provided on the documents planned for consideration at the September Board and Committee meetings, preferably in July. Kevin Foster (KF) agreed that it would be a good idea to do so.

7.4.        The Chair asked how recruitment was progressing for the new Head of Pensions. Ian Gutsell (IG) explained that interviews were held on 3 June and an offer had been made (subsequent to the meeting IG confirmed that the individual had now accepted the offer).  Work is ongoing to develop the new team structure and recruit to roles during the summer. Dave Kellond had been appointed to the Compliance and Local Improvement Partner role and will start on 3 August.

7.5.        The Board RESOLVED to:

1) note the report

2) request a joint briefing with the Committee is arranged on the additional documents being produced for the governance review.