Agenda and minutes

1.1       The minutes of the previous meeting on 26 February were agreed.

2.1       Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Simon Elford.

Disclosures by all Members present of personal interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the Members regard the interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.

3.1       There were no disclosures of interest.

Notification of items which the Chair considers to be urgent and proposes to take at the appropriate part of the agenda.

4.1       There were no urgent items.

5.1       The Committee considered the draft minutes of the Pension Board meeting held on 8 May 2018.

5.2       The Committee RESOLVED to note the draft minutes.

·         Update on investment strategy

6.1       The Committee considered the following reports by Hymans Robertson:

·         Quarter 1 monitoring report

·         Update on investment strategy

6.2       The Committee RESOLVED to:

1) Note the report; and

2) agree to discuss at the July Strategy day the  reduction  of the East Sussex Pension Fund’s  equities exposure by 1.6% to better match the strategic target.

7.1       The Committee received a presentation from the investment fund manager HarbourVest Partners.

8.1       The Committee considered a report on the Pension Fund Securities Lending Programme.

8.2       The Committee RESOLVED to:

1) approve the East Sussex Pension Fund’s participation in the Securities lending programme; and

2) approve the Fund’s participation in and compliance with the future ACCESS Pool Securities lending policy.

9.1       The Committee considered the Pension Fund 2017/18 Annual Report.

9.2       The Committee RESOLVED to:

1) ) note the Draft Annual Report, and financial performance of the Pension Fund, which will be submitted for final audit in June 2018;

2) note that the audited Pension Fund Annual Report will be presented to the Pensions Committee for approval at its meeting on 16 July 2018.

10.1     The Committee considered a report on the East Sussex Pension Fund Internal Audit Strategy.

10.2     The Committee RESOLVED to approve the Internal Audit Strategy for the East Sussex Pension Fund.

11.1     The Committee considered a report on  the annual review of the Pension Fund Polices.

11.2     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1 note the Discretionary Pension Policy Statements and Administration Strategy Statement; and

2) Approve the Policy for Employers Leaving the Fund (Cessation Policy).

12.1     The Committee considered a report providing a general update  on matters related to the Committee activities.

12.2     The Chair of the Pension Board updated the Committee on the Board’s concerns about the GMP reconciliation process including the contract arrangements, level of risk to the Fund, and final cost of the process. In regards to the Breaches Log, he expressed concern about Churchill’s breach for not paying over pension contributions for some of its members. He also warned the Committee about the potential  risk of breaching regulations in regards to the 11 data sets the Pensions Regulator requires all pension funds to hold.  The Chair of the Pension Board informed the Committee that the Board would consider future reports on the GMP reconciliation process.

12.2     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)  note the report;

2) request a report on the GMP reconciliation process being carried out by the  JLT;

3) request a progress report on data cleansing; and

4) request that an officer from Business Operations attend future meetings of the Board and Committee.

13.1     The Committee considered a report on its forward plan.

13.2     The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.

To consider excluding 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).

14.1     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).

15.1     The Committee considered a report providing an update on activities undertaken by the ACCESS Pool.  

15.2     The Committee resolved to:

1) Approve the ACCESS Business Plan in line with ACCESS Joint Committee recommendation to the participating ACCESS Authorities;

2) Agree the ACCESS Joint Committee recommendation that a company is not formed for the support of ACCESS at this time;

3). Note the progress on the Governance Manual and the permanent ACCESS Support Unit (ASU);

4). Note the ACCESS Pool Spring Progress Update submission to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government.

16.1     The Committee considered a report providing an update on participating employer pension issues.

16.2     The Committee RESOLVED to note the report.