Issue - meetings

15.1     The Committee considered a report by the Chief Finance Officer introduced by Susan Greenwood, Head of Pensions.

15.2        The following points were highlighted to the Committee:

1)    On 31 March 2025, a workshop for Pension Board and Pension Committee Members was held focussing on the Risk Register and Business Continuity Plan. Updates from the workshop have been incorporated within the risk register including clearer risk triggers and consistency in terms of formatting.

2)    All those who attended the workshop agreed that a further review around cyber risk would be beneficial to understand the specific implications to the Fund in the event of cyber-attack.

3)  It is proposed that external advice is procured to ensure that the Business Continuity Plan is as effective as possible and outputs from the external advice will support further training for officers and Members of the Pension Board and Pension Committee.

4)  It is anticipated that an enhanced approach to business continuity will be reported to the Pension Board and Pension Committee in the autumn.

15.3     The Committee discussed the value of the proposed procurement of external advice in terms of supporting the development of a more robust Business Continuity Plan noting that the procurement cost to the Fund is minimal compared to the potential risk to the Fund in the event of cyber-attack and immaterial in terms of the overall value of the Fund.

15.4     The Committee noted that it would be beneficial for work to develop the Business Continuity Plan considers the proposed external advice to ensure the plan is specific to the Fund together with advice from East Sussex County Council information security officers to ensure the plan includes corporate systems and devices used by the pension team.

15.5     The Committee were advised that the Pensions Regulator will look to ensure that the Fund has a specific and separate Business Continuity Plan to the County Council’s Business Continuity Plan.

15.6     The Committee discussed the risk ratings for I4 Investment Pooling and I7 Climate Change and requested that these risk ratings are reviewed with consideration to the potential cost to the Fund regarding pensions reform and the effect of climate change on the global economy in terms of predicted loss of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and predicted fall in pension fund returns.

15.7     The Committee were assured that the risk rating I4 Investment Pooling was reviewed ahead of being reported to the Committee and reflects the current position however the Committee noted that the nature of the risks in relation to pooling will need to be revised following the changes expected following implementation of the consultation in March 2026.

15.8     The Committee RESOLVED to:

(1) review and note the Pension Fund Risk Register; and

(2) delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer to take all actions necessary to procure and appoint an external adviser to provide support in relation to business continuity planning and cyber risk, including the provision of training to Officers and members of the Pension Committee and Board.