Agenda item

(a)       That the changes to the Business Plan as detailed in paragraph 3.02 of the report be approved;

(b)       That the changes to the Risk Register as detailed in paragraph 4.04 of the report be approved;

(c)        That the draft Procedure for Reporting Breaches of the Law to include the delegation for its implementation to the Clwyd Pension Fund Manager, as detailed in paragraphs 5.01 to 5.03 of the report, be approved; and

(d)       That the updates to the Training Policy as attached at appendix 5 to the report be approved. 

The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager introduced a report to provide an update on governance related issues.  He provided background information and explained that due to the cancellation of the meeting of the Committee that was to have been held on 23 September 2015, the report where appropriate would update on both quarters 1 and 2.  He reported on the decisions which had been made under delegated powers by Pension Fund Manager, Corporate Finance Manager with agreement by the Deputy Chair.

The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager referred to the Clwyd Pension Fund’s Risk Policy and Register and drew attention to the current high level risks for the Fund as outlined in paragraph 4.03 of the report.  He commented on the need to focus on maintaining the required level of knowledge, skills and resources within the Fund and suggested that the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 23 February 2016 be held as a workshop to discuss both the proposed Business Plan for 2016/17 and the proposed administration and communication strategies. 

The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager invited Karen McWilliam (Independent Advisor - Aon Hewitt) to report on the draft procedure for reporting breaches of the law.  Mrs. McWilliam referred to Section 70 of the Pensions Act 2004 which imposed a requirement on specific persons to report a matter to the Pensions Regulator (TPR) where that person had reasonable cause to believe that a legal duty relating to the administration of the scheme had not been or is not being complied with and that person has reasonable cause to believe it would be significant to the Pensions Regulator in carrying out its duties. She advised that the TPR had developed a Code of Practice to provide guidance on this legal requirement and good practice in monitoring and recording all breaches of the law, and that the Council had developed this procedure in relation to the Clwyd Pension Fund. The draft procedure for reporting breaches of the law was appended to the report and sets out how the Council aims to achieve best practice through use of a formal recording and reporting breaches procedure.  Mrs. McWilliam explained that it was up to the individual to identify a breach decide and whether the matter should be reported to the TPR and to complete the reporting procedure.

The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager invited Alwyn Hughes, Pensions Finance Manager, to report on the key considerations, as detailed in the report, concerning progress on the Business Plan and the Risk Register, current developments and news, policy implementation and monitoring.  He drew attention to the proposed changes to the Business Plan which were outlined in section 3.02 of the report, the changes to the Risk Register which were detailed in 4.04 of the report, and the suggested changes to the Training Policy which were highlighted in appendix 5. 

Karen McWilliam referred to the training policy and the aim which was to ensure that members of the Pension Fund Committee, Pension Board, and senior officers, had the appropriate levels of knowledge and skills to undertake their responsibilities concerning management of the Fund. She advised that in conjunction with the Chief Executive a short questionnaire would be produced to determine any additional training needs, information or resources that members may require. The questionnaire would be sent to members in the New Year.

Mark Owen referred to the deferment of the actuarial tendering process in the Business Plan 2015/16 to 2017/18 - Quarter 2, which was appended to the report and said it would have been helpful if some explanation of the reason had been provided in the report. The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager explained that the decision had been made to defer until 2017/18, which is after the completion of the next actuarial evaluation.

During discussion Debbie Fielder, Pensions Finance Manager, provided clarification in response to the queries raised by Councillor Haydn Bateman on the Business Plan concerning expenses (including in-house) and employer deficit payments.

Steve Hibbert raised a concern around the minutes of the Clwyd Pension Fund Board meetings and the delay, due to the need for formal approval at the next meeting, before they were shared with the Committee.  Karen McWilliam agreed to raise with the Pension Fund Board as those Pension Board members in attendance agreed that it should be possible to agree the minutes outside of a formal meeting. Karen McWilliam confirmed that any actions agreed at the meeting that should be brought to the attention of the the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee would be incorporated into the Governance Update or other appropriate report.

RESOLVED: 

(a)       That the changes to the Business Plan as detailed in paragraph 3.02 of the report be approved;

(b)       That the changes to the Risk Register as detailed in paragraph 4.04 of the report be approved;

(c)        That the draft Procedure for Reporting Breaches of the Law to include the delegation for its implementation to the Clwyd Pension Fund Manager, as detailed in paragraphs 5.01 to 5.03 of the report, be approved; and

(d)       That the updates to the Training Policy as attached at appendix 5 to the report be approved.