Agenda item

The Committee considered and noted the update.

            Ms Murray of Aon talked the Committee through a summary of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) guidance recently issued by the regulator. She explained some key points of the guidance and TPR’s view that harnessing diverse views can help scheme managers in their decision-making and understanding and mitigating risk. The guidance recommends that schemes should adopt an EDI policy, and while some of the considerations in the guidance have already been addressed within the new Communications Strategy, Ms Murray confirmed that such a policy will be brought to a future Committee meeting.

            Mr Hibbert commented that he had not read the full guidance, and asked whether the Committee and Board are expected to reflect the membership, and what the regulator expects them to make progress towards. Ms Murray explained that while the regulator’s guidance is high level and does not give specific objectives, it does mention that a scheme with a high proportion of young, active members should have the same demographic represented among the trustee board. She noted that this needs to be balanced with practicality of implementing this considering how Committee appointments are made.

            Mr Hibbert noted where the guidance suggests fixed term appointments for scheme member representatives to ensure diversity of representation, that it takes a long time to train for the role appropriately. Mr Hibbert also noted that he has previously criticised WPP who have a two-year fixed term for non-voting scheme member representatives at JGC, and would have similar concerns if a time restriction applied to the scheme member representative on the Committee, particularly where those limitations do not apply to other Committee members. He also noted the need to consider that there may be a significant body of work behind the appointment process in order for the nominating bodies to attract the diversity of people needed to meet EDI aims. Ms Murray agreed that from a governance perspective continuity is a key concern for boards and committees, and particularly around training and commitment. The overall governance objective is to ensure appropriate decisions are made by those with the right knowledge and skills, and while EDI should play a role in this, it needs to be balanced with other factors such as continuity, for example having fixed term appointments staggered to avoid appointing several new members at the same time.

            Mrs McWilliam took Committee through the other key points in the report, including:

-       An update on the Pension Board membership. She expressed her gratitude for the time and commitment of both the Board’s employee representatives, Mr Steve Jackson who had agreed to continue in his role for a further two years, and Mr Steve Gadd who would be leaving the Board. Work is ongoing to fill the new vacancy in the Board.

-       The new format of the Annual Joint Consultative Meeting (AJCM) consisting of a set of video recordings and a drop-in session for one-to-one discussions for employer and employee representatives to engage on 7 December.

-       The training needs analysis which is a requirement of the knowledge and skills policy. The Committee were asked to complete the electronic survey when this is circulated, noting that paper copies can be provided on request.

-       External training opportunities, including the LGA fundamentals training which is particularly aimed at newer members. Mr Hibbert commented that he had attended this course twice in past years and would highly recommend it as an opportunity for Committee members to improve their understanding of key issues.

-       The accountant post which had now been filled, beginning on 24 June.

            Cllr Wedlake asked if there would be more training added to the plan following the Training Needs Analysis, and Mrs McWilliam confirmed this.

            The Vice Chair gave his apologies for the essential training on 2 August.

RESOLVED:

The Committee considered and noted the update.