Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Victoria Hallaron (Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd), Anthony Deakin (Cartrefi Conwy) and Councillor Stephen Churchman (Chair of the Pensions Committee). 

It was noted that Victoria Hallaron had by now resigned as a member of the Board. She was thanked for all her support and was wished well for the future.

To receive any declaration of personal interest

No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present.

To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so that they may be considered

·           28.3.17 - Meeting of the LGPS Local Pension Board Chairs in Wales. Oral feedback was received from Osian Richards from the meeting and he noted the main comments:

-     Transparency needed to be ensured

-     That the Board was to add value

-     A suggestion to combine training and conference dates for the Members of the Pensions Committees and the Pension Boards

-     A general discussion would need to be held to attempt to solve arrangements

-     Wales needed to secure a strong representative on the Advisory Board

·           Bournemouth Conference 29-30.6.17.

A request for two members of the Board to attend (as well as an officer and two members from the Pensions Committee)

It was proposed that Councillor Aled Evans and Mr Tony Deakin attended - Mr Osian Richards would be available as a substitute.

The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee  held on 13.2.17 be signed as a true record.

The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 13 February 2017, as a true record.

To submit, for information, minutes of the Pensions Committee meeting held on the 19.01.17

The minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 19.1.17 were accepted for information.

To consider the report of the Investment Manager

Submitted - the Pension Fund's risk register to the Members for information. It was highlighted that the register's main purpose was to identify and monitor significant risks, listing the processes that were in their place to alleviate the risks, if possible. It was noted that the document was operational and that there would be regular reviews for any risks that was developed.

In terms of arrangements, it was highlighted that the register would be presented to the Pensions Committee following consideration from the Board.

The register was discussed per heading. Matters arising from the discussion:

·         It was suggested to add a point regarding 'conflicts of interest' in the Governing column

·         Robust governing arrangements were welcomed

·         'Reputation' was key

·         Finance and investments - needed to be transparent

·         By moving to pooling arrangements, it was key that Gwynedd were aware of what they were paying

·         There was a need to be open to the risk of small employers in our Fund possibly coming to an end

·         There was a suggestion to include 'staff departure from employer' as an additional risk

·         There was a need to draw up an additional staff resources structure

·         The Investment Pool's current risk was high

In response to an observation regarding a small employer coming to an end, the Head of Finance Department noted that given the number of small employers in the Fund, they were not a big proportion of the whole Fund and, as a result, the impact of losing them would not be striking, but that it would be a risk that should be recorded.

In response to an observation regarding the 'current' Welsh Investment Pool risk being high, it was noted that this was mainly due to the Westminster Government's timetable. It was argued that it was an insignificant date and that the priority was for the work and the arrangements to be made correctly rather than keep to a timetable.

In response to a question regarding whether there were service level agreements, the Head of Finance Department noted that employers had entrance agreements only. It was reiterated that the Fund would promote and encourage employers to adhere to the regulations and, should they fail to conform, this would be solved through a discussion or alternative steps, with the national regulations protecting the benefits of the Fund and the employer fairly.

In response to a question regarding the use of the risk register, it was highlighted that the register was a live document and was a useful one for officers. It was also highlighted that the Regulator had asked about the existence of the risk register.

The risk register was approved.

To consider the report of the Investment Manager

Submitted – the report of the Investment Manager highlighting information on the code of conduct to Members, and information on a specific section within the constitution which dealt with conflicts of interest and what action a Member was expected to take.

It was noted that this was a document for information and should anyone have any concerns regarding declaring an interest, the best thing to do would be to ask the Monitoring Officer.

The information was accepted.

To consider the report of the Investment Manager

Submitted - the report of the Investment Manager, requesting the members of the Board to contribute to the content of the Pension Board's report for the Annual Report of the Pension Fund 2016/2017. It was highlighted that the timetable had not allowed the report to be discussed and approved at a meeting of the Pension Board before the Annual Meeting last year, and therefore the Members were asked to agree to initial matters or observations to be included in the report this year.

Observations from the discussion:

·         That the Board had an independent opinion, but it also attempted to add value and assist the Fund's administrators

·         The Board behaved as a soundboard

·         That developing Welsh Pooling was a significant part of the scrutinising this year and implementation matters in the context of traditional investments had not arisen

·         Needed to consider which elements had been valuable for the officers

It was suggested for further comments to be referred directly to the Chair or the Investment Manager

The information was accepted.

To consider the report of the Investment Manager

It was highlighted that Victoria Hallaron had (the Fund's member representative) by now had resigned as a member of the Board and therefore a new member needed to be appointed in her place. The Head of Finance Department highlighted that he had already held a discussion with the Monitoring Officer and it was confirmed that another Members’ representative needed to be appointed.

It was reiterated that an e-mail would be sent out to all employers and unions, inviting applications / nominations for a representative. The intention was to ensure that the appointment would be achieved by the term of the new Council, by appointing in a similar way to what had happened when appointing the Board's current members.

The information was accepted.

To consider the report of the Investment Manager

Submitted – the draft work programme for the year.

It was reiterated that the dates needed to be amended in accordance with the timetable of the Council's Committees. The intention was to hold the Pension Board meeting within four weeks of the Pensions Committee meeting in order to ensure that the Committee's latest minutes were distributed with the Board's agenda.

The work programme was discussed and the following observations were proposed:

·         Needed to have an opportunity to receive oral feedback from the conference in June

·         Needed to consider grievances

·         Manage information / raise awareness for criminal matters

·         Needed to decide when would be best to discuss moral investments

It was reiterated that it would be possible to add matters arising during the year to the work programme and any suggestions could be referred to the Investment Manager.

Members were thanked for their contribution.