Agenda item

1.    That the Committee noted the contents of the report.

2.    That the Committee noted the updated Pension Fund Committee terms of reference within the Council’s Constitution.

3.    That the Committee agreed that the Pension Fund Manager and Pension Finance Manager were the nominated officers for the Officer Working Group.

4.    That the Committee agreed that further responsibilities were delegated as outlined in paragraph 1.04

5.    That the Committee agreed the amendments to the CPF Governance Policy and Compliance Statement.

6.    That the Committee agreed that minor  changes to the Fund’s policies can be made by the Clwyd Pension Fund Manager and either the Corporate Finance Manager or the Chief Executive  and that the Delegation of Functions to Officers is updated accordingly.

7.    That the Committee noted the progress with the procurement of the operator.

8.    That the Committee further agreed that the Governance Policy should be updated to clarify the option of using the Welsh language.

Mr Latham (Clwyd Pension Fund Manager) gave an update on the Working Together Project in Wales and Mrs McWilliam (Independent Advisor) explained   the Constitution changes and governance elements that were agreed at the March Council meeting.

Key points covered in Mrs McWilliam’s update were:

·         The role holders of Chair and Vice Chair are given authority to sit on the JGC, rather than individuals, so if there are any changes due to the May  elections, their successors will automatically sit on the JGC.

·         Any further responsibilities within the IAA for Fund Officers  are delegated to the Pension Fund Manager (currently held by Mr Latham) rather than decisions having to be referred back to every Pension Fund Committee.

·         Any responsibilities within the IAA that are relevant to the Host Authority are delegated to Carmarthenshire County Council.

·         Nominations were required for Fund Officers to sit on the newly formed Officer Working Group (OWG). The recommendations were for The Clwyd Pension Fund Manager (currently Philip Latham) and a Pension Finance Manager, (currently Debbie Fielder)

Mr Latham then gave an update on the Joint Chairs’ meeting on 20 March 2017. The main action point emerging was to agree the role of the Host Authority.  Mr Latham tabled additional information showing how the Host Authority would operate within the All Wales Pool in terms of the Secretariat and Client Side team but noted that some aspects are still in progress, including resourcing.  He also highlighted that the Joint Chairs’ meeting included an update on MiFIDII where it was highlighted that it was expected that all eight Welsh administering authorities would need to opt up to allow the operator to carry out their functions.

Mr Latham updated the Committee on the procurement process for the operator; a selection questionnaire had been issued and there had been a significant number of expressions of interest so far. Every Welsh authority will have a part to play and the plan is to come back in September with further details and a recommendation on the appointment.

Mr Owen (Employer representative Clwyd Pension Fund Board) asked whether there will be any transfers of staff from CPF under TUPE given the Host Authority will be looking for further resources. It was confirmed that this would not be the case. 

Mr Everett (Chief Executive) asked whether there had been any further national discussion regarding the pools’ progress.  Mr Latham confirmed that another questionnaire had been received from Government issued to all pools.  The Wales pool is currently responding to this. 

Details of the revised CPF Governance Policy to include references to the Wales Joint Governance Committee were provided to the Committee. Councillor Llewelyn Jones said that under i.6 of the constitution regarding meetings of the Joint Governance Committee, there was no mention of provision regarding Welsh/English language translations.  There will be a need to have a facility to request the use of Welsh language within the governance of the JGC and the Fund so that translation would be available if this was required. Mr Everett said that this would be resolved in due course noting that translators would be available if required but there will be cost involved.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Committee noted the contents of the report.

2.    That the Committee noted the updated Pension Fund Committee terms of reference within the Council’s Constitution.

3.    That the Committee agreed that the Pension Fund Manager and Pension Finance Manager were the nominated officers for the Officer Working Group.

4.    That the Committee agreed that further responsibilities were delegated as outlined in paragraph 1.04

5.    That the Committee agreed the amendments to the CPF Governance Policy and Compliance Statement.

6.    That the Committee agreed that minor  changes to the Fund’s policies can be made by the Clwyd Pension Fund Manager and either the Corporate Finance Manager or the Chief Executive  and that the Delegation of Functions to Officers is updated accordingly.

7.    That the Committee noted the progress with the procurement of the operator.

8.    That the Committee further agreed that the Governance Policy should be updated to clarify the option of using the Welsh language.