Issue - meetings

(a)        The Committee considered the Business Plan update and provide any comments.

(b)       That the Committee agreed the two changes relating to the business plan i.e.

• Item G3 – The deferral of the approval of changes to the Conflict of Interest Policy until September 2018 (as part of the annual report and accounts)
• Item G5 – The increase in staffing budget for the Finance Team of a maximum of £60.6k per annum, which may be subject to further change as the review of the structure is progressed. The Committee agreed that any decision relating to further change as part of this review are delegated to the Chairman of the Pension Fund Committee, the Chief Executive and the Corporate Finance Manager.

Mr Latham led this item of the agenda and reported that everything is set in place for GDPR.

In relation to the Business Plan there were two changes to note:

• a deferral of the update in the Conflicts of Interest policy
• in relation to the staffing where three positions will be created (Pension Fund Accountant, Investment Officer and Governance & Business Support Officer) and the old Pension Finance Manager role will be removed.

These individuals are required to be experienced and fully qualified however; this comes at a higher cost.  Therefore an increase in the staffing budget is requested.

Mr Hibbert asked whether it is necessary for the salaries to be tied to the Council pay scales/job evaluation for Flintshire or can alternative pay levels be provided.  Mr Latham explained that this was something discussed at the recent PLSA conference as there are difficulties recruiting across all Funds. It was confirmed that the current recruitment process must follow the FCC job evaluation and therefore FCC pay scales but additional market supplements can be requested.   Councillor Mullin commented that, as HR and Governance were part of his portfolio, he was aware of situations the existing pay policies restricted recruitment and where flexibility could be used for specialist staff. Mr Latham commented that he will be discussing it with the Chief Executive.

In terms of pay, Mr Owen noted that employees working for the Fund are Flintshire County Council (FCC) employees, therefore any changes to salaries will impact in terms of FCC employees generally under the policy. Any amendments to pay would be the responsibility of the council rather than the Committee and would be determined by the Chief Executive in consultation with others.   .

Mrs McWilliam outlined that the budget setting for the Fund is delegated to the Committee meaning the Committee should decide the costs associated with staffing but that this has to be agreed in line with the Council’s policies. Mr Ferguson added that if the Fund went out to market and recruited, then the FCC policy would need to be followed.

Councillor Rutherford commented that the Fund is committed to single status; therefore the only way that they can go beyond the pay scales determined by job evaluation is through market rate supplements.

After discussion it was agreed that the decision will be delegated to the Chair, the Chief Executive and the Corporate Finance Manager.  The recommendation would be changed in the minutes.

The Chairman stated that he went to the Scheme Advisory Board Pension Committee Chair and Board Chair’s meeting on 27 March and noted that the Fund is in a good position in relation to overall Governance and Oversight.

Mr Hibbert noted at PLSA meeting that there was an excellent session on passive investment by one of the Fund’s active managers which covered the unintended consequences of passive investing. It covered the effect on markets and competition within markets and changed some of his previous views on passive investing.

RESOLVED:

(a)        The Committee considered the Business  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7