Issue - meetings

8.1       The Committee considered a report by the Chief Finance Officer introduced by Dave Kellond, Compliance and Local Improvement Partner, together with exempt information contained in a later agenda item.

8.2       The following points were highlighted to the Committee:

1)    A letter issued by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on 10 March 2025, addressing the issue of mid-valuation assessment of contribution rates in light of apparent surpluses.

2)    Government makes clear it was not intended for use in order to manage surpluses or deficits and there will be a consultation that will follow later in the year.

3)    The Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) Secretariat published a summary note of Nigel Giffin’s opinion noting that the summary has not been drafted or endorsed by Nigel Giffin KC.

4)    Government launched a consultation regarding Access and Fairness. The consultation relates to a range of proposals including survivor benefits, death grants, gender pensions gap, forfeiture regulations and opt-outs.

5)    The Pension Schemes Bill was published on 15 June along with a roadmap document and references the Local Government Pension Scheme in the context of reforms to asset pools.

6)    Following Nigel Manvell’s retirement, there is now an employer representative vacancy on the Pension Board. Communications were sent to all Fund employers rather than targeted communications. Two expressions of interest have been submitted, and both will have an interview discussion on 30 June with a view to appointment by the Governance Committee in July ahead of the next Pension Board meeting.

7)    Members of the Pension Board have received an annual request to review their register of interests for publication.

8)    An updated full privacy notice and summary privacy notice have been drafted following changes in respect to McCloud.

9)    A revised version of the Fund’s Governance and Compliance statement was due to be considered by the Pension Board and Pension Committee in June however in light of the significant upcoming changes, approval has been deferred to September 2025.

10) The Fund Actuary has prepared the indicative quarterly funding update which shows a funding position increase over the last quarter.

8.3       The Committee requested clarity regarding the SAB commissioned summary note of Nigel Giffin’s opinion in terms of whether endorsement was actively sought.

8.4       The Committee RESOLVED to:

(1) Delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Chair of the Pension Committee to finalise and submit on behalf of the East Sussex Pension Fund a response to the Government Consultation ‘Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales: Access and fairness’; and

(2) Agree the revised full privacy notice (as set out in Appendix 3 of the report) and the template summary privacy notice (as set out in Appendix 4 of the report) be adopted and used by the East Sussex Pension Fund.