Issue - meetings

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which presented the Audited Annual Report and Accounts for the North East Scotland

Pension Fund (NESPF) and the Aberdeen City Council Transport Fund (ACCTF) for consideration and signing.

Members heard from Mr Belford in respect of the report, who advised that he wished to thank the NESPF team and External Audit for their efforts in ensuring the accounts were presented to Committee, noting that External Audit had rearranged their resources to align with the Council’s dates for reporting.

Members asked a number of questions in respect of the report, particularly in relation to attendance, and it was suggested that officers could review how attendance was recorded for future reports as it was considered by Members that reporting it in a percentage style made the attendance levels look lower than they had been.  It was also noted that Members may have other training opportunities that they participated in which would not be logged in the annual report and so Mr Belford advised that officers could review this for the next report.  Councillor Henrickson and Councillor Reynolds highlighted that they had been in attendance at the December 2020 meeting of the Committee, however Mr Belford advised that it would not be possible to amend the annual report at this stage.  The Clerk advised that she could however record the attendance correction in the minute.

The report recommended:-

that Committee –

(a)      consider and approve the Audited Annual Report and Accounts for the North East Scotland Pension Fund and the Aberdeen City Council Transport Fund; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Finance, as the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 – Section 95 Officer, to sign the accounts on behalf of the Funds.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that Councillors Henrickson and Reynolds had in fact been in attendance at the December 2020 meeting of the Committee;

(ii)       to note the points raised about reflecting any additional training and experience Members of the Committee and Board had outwith the scheduled training provided by the NESPF and that the Chief Officer-Finance had undertaken to review the recording of training for future reports;

(iii)      to note that officers were monitoring the situation in respect of the recent investigation into British American Tobacco and would advise Committee if any action required to be taken and to further note that the Convener would raise the matter at the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum;

(iv)      to thank officers and External Audit for their efforts in the production of the audited annual accounts; and

(v)      to approve the recommendations.

The Board resolved:-

to note the decision of the Committee.