Agenda item
Pension Board - Annual Report
Minutes:
The Pension Board had before it the annual report prepared by the Head of Finance which set out a review of the Board activity for the year 2015/16.
The report covered the membership of the Board for the year; meetings and attendance; meeting content; training and expenditure. Appended to the report were the Pension Board Constitution and the Pension Board Training Policy for approval. The Board then heard from Mr Gary Gray, Principal Pensions Officer, in respect of the report.
The report recommended:-
that the Board –
(a) appoint a Chair;
(b) appoint a Vice Chair;
(c) approve the Constitution
(d) approve the Training Policy appended to the report; and
(e) note the remainder of the report.
(A) Appointment of Chair
In compliance with the Local Government Pensions Scheme (Governance) (Scotland) Regulations 2015, the Chair of the Pension Board was rotated each year between the Union representatives and the employer representatives. Mr Mulholland had been appointed as Chair for 2015/16, and so a member from the employer representative was required to be appointed as Chair for the 2016/17 period.
It was therefore proposed that Councillor Howatson be appointed to the role of Chair, and this was unanimously agreed by those present. Councillor Howatson noted however that since there were no other members of the employer representative present, he would be happy to step down at a future meeting if another member had a strong wish to Chair.
The clerk advised that she had received an email from Mr Briggs, advising that he was unable to attend the meeting, but was content for the Chair to be appointed in his absence, while noting that he would be unable to take up the role of Chair himself.
The Board resolved:-
to appoint Councillor Howatson to the role of Chair to the Pension Board.
(B) Appointment of Vice Chair
Councillor Howatson then took the Chair, and advised members that the next task for the Board was to appoint a Vice Chair, this time from the Union representatives. It was proposed that Mr Mulholland be appointed as Chair, and this was unanimously agreed by the members present.
The Board resolved:-
to appoint Mr Mulholland to the role of Vice Chair to the Pension Board.
(C) Constitution and Training Policy
The Board then considered the constitution and training policy, noting that there had been no change to either document in the last year. There was some discussion on the role of the Board as a result of the section of the constitution which stated that ‘Pension Board representatives must not participate in or act as members of the Pension Committee’. It was clarified that the role of the Board was to have a ‘watching brief’ over the Committee in order to secure compliance with regulations. It was acceptable for Board members to contribute to the discussion at the Pension Committee but not to take part in any decision-making.
The Board members discussed the training policy and Mr Mulholland advised that there was a minimum level of training which Board members were required to attain by the Pensions Regulator, and further training was available through the Regulator website. He suggested that this link could be circulated to members.
The Chair noted that it would be helpful to receive a report on the training process, setting out the training that was required by the Pension scheme; the various levels of training that members had achieved; and highlighting where further training was still required. He also asked that the report highlight what the potential issues were if members did not attend training, for example, whether they could still sit on the Board or Committee.
It was noted that there was still an outstanding issue in respect of UCATT membership of the Board and attempts were being made to resolve this.
Mr Walker advised that the Union representatives were required to appoint a secretary, and confirmed that this would be Mr Mulholland, unless Mr Masson wished to take on the position. They would discuss this with Mr Masson outwith the meeting.
Finally, the Board confirmed that there had been no issues reported to the Pensions Regulator during the year 2015/16.
The Board resolved:-
(i) to approve the Constitution and Training Policy;
(ii) to note the remainder of the report;
(iii) to request that officers prepare a report for the June Pension Committee which set out (a) the training that was required by the Pension scheme; (b) the various levels of training that members had achieved; (c) where further training was still required; and (d) the implications if members did not attend training and how this could affect membership of the Board and Committee; and
(iv) to confirm that no issues had been reported to the Pensions Regulator during the year 2015/16.
- COUNCILLOR WILLIAM HOWATSON, Chair
Supporting documents:
- BR May 2016 Pensions Board Annual Report, item 1. PDF 49 KB
- Pension Board Constitution, item 1. PDF 64 KB
- Training Policy Pensions Board, item 1. PDF 137 KB