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No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES To receive
any apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies
were received from Councillors Seimon Glyn and Tudor
Owen |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive
any declaration of personal interest Minutes: None to
note |
|
URGENT ITEMS To note any
items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so that they may
be considered Minutes: None to
note |
|
The
Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee held
on 15.09.16 to be signed as a true record Minutes: The Chairman signed the minutes of the previous
meeting of this committee, held on 15 September 2016, as a true record. |
|
TREASURY MANAGEMENT 2016/17 - MID YEAR REVIEW PDF 302 KB To consider
the report of the Head of Finance Minutes: For information, the Investment Manager gave a
presentation and background to the report, where it was explained that Councils
were required, under the CIPFA code of conduct, to report on the performance of
the treasury management function at least twice a year. The treasury's
activities were highlighted in the report along with the associated risk
monitoring and risk management. It was noted that the Bank's base interest rates had
fallen to 0.25% in August and that the impact of this would take time to work
its way through the system. It was also suggested that interest rates were
likely to fall further and an observation was made on the introduction of
negative interest rates. A seminar would be held in January with Arlingclose (the Council's Treasury Consultants) to discuss
management of the treasury. This was highlighted, and it was noted that members
of the Scrutiny Committee had already proposed that this invitation be extended
to members of the Pensions Committee. Regarding investments made by Heritable Bank, it was
noted that the authority had now regained 98% of its investments with further
distributions likely. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT
THE REPORT FOR INFORMATION |
|
ACTUARIAL VALUATION 2016 - UPDATE ON THE PROCESS PDF 207 KB Consider the
Investments Managers Report Minutes: Having received the individual rates of employers'
general contributions on the morning of 10 November, the situation was reported
to be good. Regarding budget levels based on agreed funding, it was noted that
the lack of funding had fallen from 85% in 2013 to 91% in 2016. The main reason
for the change, it was reported, was that the returns on investment had been
better than expected. It was noted that there would be a reduction in the level
of employers' pensions contributions to fund the commitments of past services.
But, the valuation of future services commitments and the level of employers'
pensions contributions required to fund those commitments would increase. RESOLVED: TO ACCEPT
THE REPORT |
|
INVESTMENT POOLING UPDATE PDF 219 KB Consider the
report of the Investment Manager Minutes: The report of the Investment Manager was submitted,
providing an update on the situation of pooling resources in Wales. Members were reminded that the eight LGPS
funds in Wales had submitted a proposal to the UK Government that would enable
them to pool their investments of £13bn. The main aim of the enterprise is to
achieve savings on investment management costs through economies of scale and
by providing the funds with access to a range of viable investment
opportunities. It was reported that the enterprise was creating
additional work that was detailed and complex e.g. - arrangements for
collaborating, seeking of legal advice and setting up contracts. Nevertheless,
the success of the enterprise will ensure better returns for the fund. In response to a question, it was reported that
Gwynedd Fund would continue as a stand-alone fund and that the Pensions
Committee would continue to decide how the portfolio would be divided among
investment categories, but that companies that manage those investments became
options within the pool. RESOLVED TO ACCEPT
THE REPORT FOR INFORMATION |
|
PROGRESS ON THE GUARANTEED MINIMUM PENSION (GMP) RECONCILIATION EXERCISE PDF 232 KB To consider
the report of the Pensions Manager Minutes: A report was submitted to the Pensions Manager on the
practice of reconciling the Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP). Members were
reminded that the Committee in its meeting on 15 December 2015 had approved the
establishment of an internal team to reconcile the GMP in accordance with
recommendations by HMRC. In order to complete the task by 31 March 2018, it was
explained that team members' original contracts would need to be extended in
order to respond to the increased work load (total costs for January 2017 -
March 2018 = £81,972). It was highlighted that the cost would be very
reasonable compared with other funds in Wales as some are considering
outsourcing the work at an estimated cost of £500k. In addition, it was noted that the Treasury, to
simplify the process of reconciling data, had recommended that the weekly GMP
sum paid by the Public Sector Pensions Plan and HMRC fall within the tolerance
level of £2 a week. It was noted that the Government had suggested that
Committee approval be sought for this tolerance level. In response to a question about the cost of extending
contracts, it was reported that the team possessed unique specialisms and that
it would be sensible to use this valuable resource. In response to a question about the £2 weekly
tolerance level, it was highlighted that this practice would enable our staff
to close a file, rather than spending too much time to minor details. RESOLVED: TO ACCEPT
THE REPORT i.
APPROVE THE CONTINUED FUNDING OF THE
RECONCILING PROJECT UNTIL THE END OF MARCH 2018 IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE HEAD OF
FINANCE DEPARTMENT TO TEMPORARILY EXTEND STAFF CONTRACTS. ii.
APPROVE A TOLERANCE LEVEL OF £2 PER WEEK IN ORDER TO
SIMPLIFY THE PROCESS OF RECONCILING INFORMATION. |