Issue - meetings

The Pension Board had before it the annual report which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2023/24. 

The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure; and included the programme of work to be considered by the Board and the Pensions Committee over the forthcoming year, namely:-

·       Training Plan

·       Risk Management & Risk Register

·       Pension Fund Annual Report

·       Annual review of scheme policy documents

·       Compliance Review

·       Internal/External Audit Plan and updates

·       Conflicts of Interest declarations

·       Breaches of Law

·       Investment Strategy/ESG

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Appended to the report were the Board Terms of Reference and the training policy.

Board members discussed training requirements and it was noted that it could be difficult for Members to complete the required training by the timescales given.  Officers advised that extensions could be provided by the Governance team if needed.  It was noted that the deadline for completion given by the NESPF and the deadline in Hymans was sometimes different, and officers undertook to look into this. 

There was discussion of additional training that Board members would find useful and it was suggested that sessions could be run on the remit and role of the Board, cyber security and pensions dashboards.  Ms Colliss undertook to put an agenda together and circulate this to the Board for comment, and advised Members to contact the NESPF if they had particular areas of interest where they felt training would be helpful.

The Board discussed having a separate meeting prior to the Committee and Board meeting where they could discuss papers and topics they might wish to raise at the meeting.  There were various suggestions proposed, including meeting half an hour prior to the Board or sharing email addresses so that Board members could contact each other prior to each meeting to ascertain whether a separate meeting was required.

Finally Mr Walker advised that Unite had nominated a representative to be his substitute on the Board but that nominee had not been accepted, and he noted that Unite would be going to formal appeal on the matter.

The Board resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would review Mrs Lawrence’s training records to ascertain whether she had completed version 1 of the training, or version 2;

(ii)       to note that Board members could approach the NESPF Governance team should they require an extension to training completion deadlines;

(iii)      to note that officers would review whether differing deadlines were provided by the NESPF and in Hymans for completion;

(iv)      to note that officers would circulate a proposed training / information session agenda to cover topics raised by the Board (as set out above);

(v)      to note that officers would provide Board members with the list of email addresses so that they could make contact with each other ahead of every Committee and Board meeting; and

(vi)      to approve the content of the annual report.

-                COUNCILLOR STEPHEN SMITH, Chair

The Pension Board had before it the annual report which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2022/23. 

The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure; and included the programme of work to be considered by the Board and the Pension Committee over the forthcoming year, namely:-

•        Training Plan

•        Risk Management & Risk Register

•        Pension Fund Annual Report

•        Annual review of scheme policy documents

•        Compliance Review

•        Internal/External Audit Plan and updates

•        Conflicts of Interest declarations

•        Breaches of Law

Appended to the report were the Board Terms of Reference and the training policy.

Board members discussed the training attendance, noting that there could be barriers to being able to attend multi-day events, such as the recent Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) conference, including conflicting work and family commitments and childcare requirements.  Members noted that the bulletin circulated by officers was particularly helpful in notifying them of training opportunities, and that it was helpful to receive early notification of dates where possible.

Board members also discussed the dispute resolution process, and whether they could seek an adjournment during a meeting of the Committee and Board if they felt this was required.  Ms Colliss undertook to consult with Legal colleagues on the process to be followed, and added that although the Board currently only met on an annual basis, they could take the opportunity to meet more frequently if they wished.

The Board resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would review topics covered at conferences and events and provide links to any relevant information to Members who had been unable to attend;

(ii)       to request that officers provide feedback to conference organisers asking them to consider providing creche facilities at multi-day conferences to enable Members with family commitments to attend;

(iii)      to request that officers provide feedback to PLSA organisers that (a) it would be helpful to arrange practitioner sessions and sessions of interest to make them more flexible to assist Members in attending multi-day conferences, and (b) they consider arranging conferences towards the end of the week which would particularly help local authority members with attendance as committee meetings tended to be held earlier in the week;

(iv)      to note that officers would provide information to Members on the process should they wish to use the dispute resolution process, including whether an adjournment could be sought during the Committee meeting to allow the Board members to meet if required;

(v)      to note that officers had undertaken to ensure that anyone who wished to receive the introductory training which had been provided to Committee members following the Local Government elections could do so, including those who simply wished to have refresher training; and

(vi)      to approve the content of the annual report.

-                 MRS M LAWRENCE, Chair

The Pension Board had before it the annual report which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2021/22. 

The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure; and included the programme of work to be considered by the Board and the Pension Committee over the forthcoming year, namely:-

·       Training Plan

·       Risk Management & Risk Register

·       Pension Fund Annual Report

·       Annual review of scheme policy documents

·       Compliance Review

·       Internal/External Audit Plan and updates

·       Conflicts of Interest declarations

·       Breaches of Law

Appended to the report were the Board Terms of Reference and the training policy.

The Board resolved:-

(i)       to note that Mr Stirling was incorrectly referred to as an employer representative and this would be amended;

(ii)       to note that Mr Kevin Masson would be the GMB substitute on the Board; and

(iii)      to approve the content of the annual report.

-                 MR I HODGSON, Chair

The Pension Board had before it the annual report which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2020/21. 

The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure; and included the programme of work to be considered by the Board and the Pension Committee over the forthcoming year, namely:-

·       Training Plan

·       Risk Management & Risk Register

·       Pension Fund Annual Report

·       Annual review of scheme policy documents

·       Compliance Review

·       Internal/External Audit Plan and updates

·       Conflicts of Interest declarations

·       Breaches of Law

Appended to the report were the Board Terms of Reference and the training policy.

The Board resolved:-

to note and approve the content of the annual report.

-                 MR N STIRLING, Chair

The Pension Board had before it the annual report which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2018/19. 

The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure; and included the programme of work to be considered by the Board and the Pension Committee over the forthcoming year, namely:-

·         Training Plan

·         Risk Management & Risk Register

·         Pension Fund Annual Report

·         Annual review of scheme policy documents

·         Compliance Review

·         Internal/External Audit Plan and updates

·         Conflicts of Interest declarations

·         Breaches of Law

Appended to the report were the Board Terms of Reference and the training policy.

The Board resolved:-

to note and approve the content of the annual report.

-           MR L KNOX, Chair

The Pension Board had before it the annual report which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2017/18. 

The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure; and included the programme of work to be considered by the Board and the Pension Committee over the forthcoming year, namely:-

·         Annual Training plan update

·         Risk Register

·         Pension Fund Annual Report

·         Annual review of scheme policy documents

·         Compliance review

·         Internal/Audit plan and updates

·         Conflict of interests declarations

Appended to the report were the Board Terms of Reference; the training policy; and the role profiles for the Convener and Vice Convener of the Pension Committee.

Members asked a number of questions of Ms Colliss in respect of the report.  Ms Colliss advised that CIPFA had recently published a Guide for Local Pension Boards and that this would be circulated to Board members when available.

There was a further discussion around ethical investments in respect of the Pension Fund and Ms Colliss provided an explanation to members about the fiduciary duty to get the best return for the Fund and advised that officers were currently doing some work around ESG (environmental, social, governance) matters and were looking to obtain a third party to review the Fund assets and the impact these and the Fund investments had globally, and this would be reported to the Committee and Board at a future meeting.

The Board resolved:-

to note and approve the content of the annual report.

-           COUNCILLOR MCKELVIE, Chair

The Pension Board had before it the annual report which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2016/17. 

The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure; and included the programme of work to be considered by the Board and the Pension Committee over the forthcoming year, namely:-

•           Conflicts of Interest declarations

•           Annual Training plan update

•           Risk Register

•           Pension Fund Annual Report

•           Annual review of scheme policy documents

•           Tri-ennial Valuation & setting employer contribution rates

•           Compliance report

•           Internal/Audit plan and updates

Appended to the report were the Board Terms of Reference; the training policy; and the role profiles for the Convener and Vice Convener of the Pension Committee.

The Board resolved:-

to note and approve the content of the annual report.

-           MR ALAN WALKER, Chair