Issue - meetings

That the report be noted.

The Chief Executive introduced a report to provide an update on governance related issues.  He provided background information and referred to the establishment of a new Local Pension Board (LPB).  He explained that the first meeting of the LPB was scheduled to be held on 23 July 2015 and gave a brief update on progress concerning the recruitment of employer and member representatives. 

The Chief Executive drew attention to the routine annual audit of Pensions Administration and Pensions Investment Management undertaken during the final quarter of 2014/15.  He commented on the process whereby the Internal Audit reports for the Clwyd Pension Fund were submitted to the Audit Committee as well as the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee and expressed a concern around duplication of work. .

Karen McWilliam (Independent Advisor - Aon Hewitt), said that the matter had been given some consideration when the constitution for Clwyd Pension Fund Committee had been set up.   She acknowledged the point made and agreed that current arrangements may need to be reviewed. 

The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager referred to the key considerations as detailed in the report.  He also drew attention to the training plan which was appended to the report which outlined the proposed training sessions for 2015/16.  He reminded Members that under the Clwyd Pension Fund Training Policy they were required to attend at least one day of general awareness training per year.

Karen McWilliam referred to the Conflicts of Interest Policy specific to the Clwyd Pension Fund and commented that it was “broader” than required by local authority law and highlighted the examples in the appendix which demonstrated the difference.  She advised that the focus of the policy was to ensure potential and actual conflicts were identified and considered at the earliest possible stage and appropriate records maintained to ensure transparency.   Mrs. McWilliam advised that the Policy applied to all members of the Pension Fund Committee and the Pension Board, including scheme member and employer representatives.  She also referred to the amendments which had been made to the Policy following the discussions which had been held under delegated responsibilities and agreed to circulate the revised Policy to the Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.