Venue: Ystafell Gwyrfai - Pencadlys Caernarfon. View directions
Contact: Lowri Haf Evans 01286 679878
No. | Item |
---|---|
APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence Minutes: An apology had been received from Councillor Aled Evans (Gwynedd Council). |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from any members
present. |
|
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
23.10.17 be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 23
October 2017, as a true record. In response to a
question regarding the suggestion to publish i-connect, users, it was noted that four organisations were currently
using it fully and it would be timely to publish the names of the users when
one large organisation had come forward. REPORTING BACK ON EVENTS ·
October Seminar - 6.11.17 It was reported
that the seminar had been a good one. It was emphasised that the matter of
insurance for Pension Board members had been discussed and whether the
Council's insurance was appropriate. The Chair noted that he had asked for more
information for clarity. The Head of Finance Department emphasised that he had
also referred the enquiry to the Council's insurers again, and had received a
consistent and firm response that the Members of the Pension Board had no
executive power, and therefore that the alleged need for insurance was a mystery.
The Chair was thanked for referring the matter back to the conference
organisers, with the hope of receiving a response by the next meeting of the
Board.
·
Pension Board Chairs Networking Meeting - 26.10.17
- Implement and develop data improvement plans - Consider joint Pension Boards for the future (in addition or separately) - Ensure that the
Pension Boards do not go into too much detail, but would regularly look at the
greatest risks and how they were developing It was proposed to
present the major risks at the next meeting along with recent developments. |
|
MINUTES OF PENSIONS COMMITTEE The minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 9 11 2017 were accepted for information. Minutes: The minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 9 November 2017 were accepted
for information. In response to a
question regarding the costs of reconciling guaranteed pensions, it was noted that
the Pensions Committee had the financial power to determine the pension fund's
expenditure. It was reiterated that the sum was a one-off payment, but that a
report would be submitted to the Pensions Committee in future to attempt to
permanently keep the resource. It was noted that the unit's staff was
experienced and achieved very specialist work, and that the numbers, compared
to other Authorities, were very low. There would be a need to ensure a
continuation for this specialist service. In response to a
question about reimbursing the expenses, wages and allowance of Pension Board
members, it was noted that the cost was not substantial and that the Pensions
Committee had been unanimous in their decision. |
|
WALES PENSIONS PARTNERSHIP To receive verbal update from the Head of Finance on recent
progress Minutes: An oral update was
received by the Head of Finance Department on the progress made with procuring
the operator services for the Wales Pension Partnership. It was noted that one
company had been offered the work, and the process was now in a standstill
peiod (10 days) so that there would be an opportunity for the other bidders to
challenge the decision. If no challenge would come forward, it was explained
that a public statement would soon confirm the appointment of the successful
company. It was reported
that some of the other partnerships had established and had started staffing
their own operators, but considering the smaller sized investments of the Wales
Pension Partnership, it would be difficult to pay sufficient salaries in order
to attract and keep the best. As a result, it would appear that the correct
decision was made to search for a third party operator by means of a contract. It was noted that
since Westminster Government had set a target of having an operator in place by
April 2018, the priority was to ensure that appropriate and measured steps
would be taken to ensure that things would be done properly. It was reiterated
that professional guidance had been received to ensure this. It was outlined
that the procurement process had been thorough. In terms of investments, it was
reiterated that discussions were likely to be held with the operator from now
on to ensure the best. In terms of Gwynedd, the Pensions Committee would be
deciding on the division of the Fund within the sub-funds, which would be
likely to be blended sub-funds. In the context of infrastructure and property
investments, it was noted that this would likely to be something transitional
which could take years because it would be difficult to rotate the natural
contract terms. In response to the
update, the Members noted that they agreed with the need to be cautious. In
response to an observation regarding the possibility of accepting a challenge
and whether a period of time had been earmarked on the timetable for this, it
was noted that there would be a need to respond to the challenge and therefore
it would be inevitable that there would be a possible slippage to the
timetable. Nevertheless, it was noted that April 2018 continued to be a target
for commencing the new arrangement. |
|
THE PENSION REGULATOR: PUBLIC SERVICE GOVERNANCE SURVEY 2017 To receive feedback from the Board in order to complete the survey Minutes: A survey that had
been published by the Pensions Regulator for each Local Scheme Manager was
submitted. It was highlighted that Gwynedd Council was the Local Scheme Manager
for the Gwynedd Pension fund and therefore had a responsibility to complete the
survey jointly with the Chairs of the Pension Board. The Chair decided that the
best method of completing the survey would be to receive the Board's feedback
to the survey at the meeting. When discussing
additional costs and a suggestion to penalise for some employers for their
failure to submit correct, complete and timely data, it was suggested that it
was possible to ask other funds about their arrangements when networking at
conferences. It was added that the Unit had held a series of discussions with
some late employers and that this type of collaboration was going in the right
direction, but that there was definitely room for improvement. This was
considered as a possible item for the Pensions Committee to discuss. The survey was
completed (available from the Pensions Regulator in English only). |