Agenda item

To consider a report from the Director of Corporate Resources-Corporate Services regarding a request from trade unions that the Panel and Board creates a new seat on the committee specifically for trade union representation.

The Panel and Board received a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Resources (item 11 in the Minute Book) including a written deputation from the trade union UNISON making a case for creating an additional trade union representation on the Panel and Board, and the recommendation from the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Resources that the current composition of the Panel and Board continues to be the most efficient and effective for the governance of the Pension Fund.

The request for an additional representative is based on improving representation, governance and communication for the Pension Fund. It is unclear how an additional trade union representative will be of benefit to the Fund’s communications with its members. The Pension Fund’s aim is to communicate directly with all its scheme members. Communication material is and will continue to be available to all of the trade unions, so that they can include it in their own communications if they wish to do so.

The Panel and Board has 9 County Councillors that are representatives of the Administering Authority, and an equal number of (3) scheme member and (3) employer representatives in line with the statutory requirements in respect of Pension Boards. Careful consideration was given in the current formation of the Panel and Board, balancing the representation of the Administering Authority, which has the legal responsibility for the management of the Pension Fund, with scheme member and employer representation. This format, which was approved by the Secretary of State, full access and voting rights on all issues,

including governance, administration and investment of the Pension Fund. In this respect Hampshire has been well ahead of the recommendations of the Scheme Advisory Board’s Good Governance recommendations.

Scheme Member Representative seats were specifically allocated across all membership groups of scheme members (active, deferred and pensioners), to ensure full and broad representation. All scheme members (with the exception of Hampshire County Council employees, as set out the in the Council’s constitution) are able to apply for the representative roles, which are allocated based on criteria set-out in the Representation Policy. All three roles (plus the substitute) are open to trade union members, and indeed the Panel and Board’s first active scheme member representative was a trade union member. Therefore the current three scheme member representative roles are open to all scheme members, including trade union members as they have been in the past, with an equal opportunity of appointment.

Cllr Corkery stated his opposition to the recommended, and that a Trade Union representative should be added to the Panel and Board based on the principle of collective bargaining and because the resources of Trade Unions would benefit the Pension Fund’s communication and supporting the diversity of potential candidates that would be a Trade Union representative.

Cllr Corkery, seconded by Dr Bartle, proposal to delete section 4. of the report and replace with:

That the Panel and Board agrees that the request for a trade union representative would improve the effectiveness of the Panel and Board and requests that permission is sought from the SoS for a revised structure that includes trade union representation.

This proposal was defeated.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the request received for an additional specific trade union representative on the Panel and Board and that any changes to the composition of the Panel and Board would require the approval of the Secretary of State was noted.

(b)  That the Panel and Board agreed that the current composition of the Panel and Board, as approved by the Secretary of State, is most efficient and effective for the governance of the Pension Fund and continues to offer equality of opportunity to be a representative on the committee to all scheme members, including trade union members.