Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies were received.

All Members who believe they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting must declare that interest and, having regard to Part 3 Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members’ Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code.  Furthermore all Members with a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting should consider, having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 4 of the Code, whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, consider whether it is appropriate to leave the meeting while the matter is discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal Interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

No declarations were made.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2024.

The minutes of the previous meeting on 27 September 2024 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any deputations notified under Standing Order 12.

No deputations were received by the Panel and Board on this occasion.

To receive any announcements the Chairman may wish to make

The Chairman notified members that the ACCESS Pool Committee would meet in January to consider the Panel and Board’s comments in respect of the current Government consultation.

It was heard, following discussion at a recent briefing from fund managers, that Social and Affordable Housing would form part of considerations for the implementation of the Pension Fund’s investment strategy.

The Chairman noted that Members of the Panel and Board had attended several training courses and conferences in their role on the Panel and Board over the previous quarter, including attendance at the Baille Gifford Conference and fundamentals training. Members noted these sessions had highlighted opportunities which could be explored through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and demonstrated the significant level of knowledge required by members of the Panel and Board to be effective. It was suggested that the Fundamentals course was very valuable to new members and should be made available as soon as possible after appointment to the Panel and Board, particularly in light of the forthcoming County elections in May 2025. It was further noted that the current training programme was well established and met with current Government requirements. 

To receive the public minutes of the ACCESS Joint Committee held on 9 September 2024.

As no meeting of the ACCESS Joint Committee had been held since the 9 September to approve the minutes, it was heard that ACCESS minutes would be brought forward to the next meeting.

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Operations presenting the Pension Fund’s Business Plan for 2024/25 to 2027/28 and other statutory statements for the Panel and Board’s approval.

The Panel and Board received a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Operations presenting the Pension Fund’s Business Plan for 2024/25 to 2027/28 and other statutory statements for the Panel and Board’s approval.

Officers noted that changes included updates to the business plan and the risk register, revising the 2024/25 budget and forward budget for 2025/26 and the inclusion of the agreed training plan. The responsible investment policy had been updated to reflect the revised responsible investment approach, which was aligned with that of the ACCESS Pool. It was noted that minor changes had been made to other statements, to reflect current practice or to align to the approved funding strategy statement.

In response to Members questions it was heard that:

·         The Pension Dashboard testing had been postponed until December but was not expected to delay the go live date.

·         Whilst self-select survey responses were a helpful reflection of customer experience; they represented mainly the extremities in opinion and the performance statistics may offer a more accurate reflection of overall performance. 

·         The Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) recommendations were required to be addressed under new government guidance.

·         The new regulations required the appointment of an LGPS officer and the appropriate officer to undertake this responsibility was being considered.

·         The Panel and Board collectively needed to have the skills and knowledge required, allowing those without previous experience to join the Panel and Board, supported by an extensive training programme.

·         Usage of the Pension Portal by scheme members was noted to be a lot higher than other pension schemes in the peer group.

·         The Hampshire Pension Fund operated a telephone helpline for members, which offered support and guidance as well as advocacy through the scheme and employer representatives on the Panel and Board.

·         Staffing costs would reduce from 2026/27, with the resolution of the McCloud remedy actions. 

·         Under current ACCESS arrangements, each fund in the pool was responsible for managing its own liabilities and funding requirements, with the discount rate and investment returns expectation determined by actuaries locally.

·         ACCESS were required to consider merging with other pools, and would be sending a questionnaire to all other established pools to identify any opportunities to do so where it would be of benefit.

·         Members questioned whether ACCESS meetings could be recorded/observed, however at present there was not a mechanism to do so.

·         Approximately 32% of current investments by the Pension Fund were located in the UK. 

Members suggested that the governance relationship between the Panel and Board and the ACCESS Pool should be explained more fully in future revisions for clarity and the inclusion of a glossary on the webpages to make the documents more readable by pensioner members. 

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Pension Fund Panel and Board approve the Business Plan for 2024/25 to 2027/28 (Annex 1 to this paper) and the following documents that form the Fund’s Governance Framework:

·         Investment Strategy Statement (Annex 2)

·         Communication Policy Statement (Annex 3)

·         Employer Policy (Annex 4)

·         Administration Strategy Statement (Annex 5)

·         Funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 240.

To receive a report from the Director of Corporate Operations outlining the investment performance of the cash balances held by the Pension Fund in 2024/25 to 31 October 2024.

The Panel and Board receive a report from the Director of Corporate Operations outlining the investment performance of the cash balances held by the Pension Fund in 2024/25 to 31 October 2024.

It was heard that the fund continued to operate within the threshold of a minimum of £60m cash balance at any time.

Councillor Crawford left the meeting at this point. 

RESOLVED:

That the Annual Cash Investment Strategy for 2025/26 is approved.

That the Annual Cash Investment Strategy be implemented from the date of this meeting for the remainder of 2024/25.

That the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Operations be authorised to manage the Fund’s cash balance in accordance with the policy set out in this report.

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Operations providing draft statutory statements for 2024 and an update on administration performance in the first six months of 2024/25.

The Panel and Board considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Operations providing draft statutory statements for 2024 and an update on administration performance in the first six months of 2024/25.

It was heard that performance continued to be high and the Pension Fund’s administration had performed well against others in the peer group. It was noted that focus on data quality had achieved an ongoing performance of 97% in common data and increase to 96% for conditional data.

It was noted that further education colleges were now considered a lower level of risk to the fund, and therefore their contribution rate had been reduced accordingly. 

Members challenged why the divorce actuals were included where there was no data, through which it was heard that this was to meet central government requirements in the preparation of the annual statement. 

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Panel and Board approve the additional spend to address trace members with a preserved refund

2.    That the Panel and Board note the rest of the information contained in the report and the exempt appendix.

That in relation to the following items the press and public be excluded from the meeting, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of proceedings, that if a member of the public were present during the items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exempt information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the report.

RESOLVED:

That the public be excluded from the meeting during the following items of business, as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during these items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within Paragraphs 3 and 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, and further that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons set out in the reports. 

To receive a confidential appendix to the Administration update (Item 9 of the agenda).

Members considered a confidential appendix to the Administration update (Item 9 of the agenda). It was noted that cyber security was robustly managed at the Council and training and performance management provided support to staff in maintaining system security. 

RESOLVED:

That the Panel and Board approve the Cyber Compliance Statement shown in Appendix 1 and note the information contained in the remainder of the report.

To confirm the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 27 September 2024.

The exempt minutes of the Pension Fund Panel and Board held on 27 September 2024 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive the exempt minutes of the ACCESS Joint Committee held on 9 September 2024.

Members received an action note from the meeting, highlighting the key outcomes from the meeting of the ACCESS Joint Committee on 9 September 2024.

To consider the exempt report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Operations providing an update on the progress of the Pension Fund’s investments.

The Panel and Board received an exempt report of the Deputy Chief Executive and

Director of Corporate Operations providing an update on the progress of the Pension Fund’s investments. [SUMMARY OF A MINUTE WHICH CONTAINS EXEMPT INFORMATION].