Agenda and minutes

The Democratic Services Officer advised the meeting of the procedure.

The Democratic Services Officer announced that this meeting was being held with only a quorum of the Committee due to ongoing social distancing measures resulting from Covid-19.

He said that an informal virtual meeting of the Committee had been held on Friday 10th December for all members where they had agreed provisional

recommendations.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to complete the green interest forms circulated to groups in their pre-meetings (which will be announced at the Council Meeting) to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officer or a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were none.

There was none.

There were none.

There were none.

The minutes were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee are asked to note the minutes of the Pension Board held on 30^th November 2021.

The Committee noted the draft minutes of the Pension Board from their meeting that took place on November 30th 2021.

Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 require the Fund to carry out an actuarial valuation every three years, the next is due as at 31 March 2022. The interim valuation provides an update to the current funding plan.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the outcome of the 2021 interim valuation and 2022 valuation timetable.

The Fund has a Responsible Investing (RI) Policy in place to address the impact of risks arising from RI issues on the investments portfolio.

Charles Gerrish referred to his comments made at the virtual meeting regarding the new multifuel facility located in Slough which uses waste as an energy source and asked for further information on this investment.

The Service Director for Financial Control and Pensions replied that a further response will be supplied to the Committee in due course.

The Committee RESOLVED to:

i) Approve the Annual Responsible Investment Report for publication.

ii) Approve the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Report for publication.

iii) Agree the RI priorities for 2022/23.

This report updates the Committee about Brunel and the wider pool covering delivery of service, performance, governance and risk management aspects of the pool.

Councillor Chris Dando asked what would happen if Brunel decided to increase its fees and charges.

The Service Director for Financial Control and Pensions replied that any changes would require all 10 client funds to approve them. He added that Brunel may decide to scale back on some of their services.

Councillor Paul May asked what the Fund could do if it were unhappy with decisions made by Brunel.

The Service Director for Financial Control and Pensions replied that it was both difficult and expensive to leave Pool and that the Fund has to Pool with someone as a legal requirement.

He added that if the Fund were to join another Pool it would then likely be as a junior partner and therefore have less influence. He stated that the Fund had been on a significant journey since they began their work with Brunel and that he felt it had been successful so far.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the information set out in the report and appendices.

This paper reports on the investment performance of the Fund and seeks to update the Committee on routine strategic aspects of the Fund’s investments and funding level; and policy and operational aspects of the Fund.

The Committee RESOLVED to:

i) Approve the revised Investment Strategy Statement

ii) Note the information set out in the report and appendices.

The purpose of this report is to update the Pensions Committee on the latest position concerning the Local Government Pension Scheme [LGPS] and any proposed regulatory matters that could affect scheme administration.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the current position regarding the developments that could affect the administration of the fund.

The purpose of this report is to present the Fund’s performance for the three months to 30th September 2021 against its key performance indicators (KPI’s) in relation to the administration of pension benefits.

Councillor Chris Dando asked if there was an update on the availability of new IT equipment for staff.

The Pensions Manager replied that the majority of staff were managing with what they currently have and that as part of the phased rollout of new laptops they were expecting to receive them by the end of the financial year.

The Committee RESOLVED to note:

(i) The Fund performance for the three months to 30th September 2021.

(ii) The current Risk Register.

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on Internal Audit activity.

The Committee RESOLVED to note the report and outcomes of the Internal Audit work carried out on the Avon Pension Fund.

The purpose of this report is to inform the Committee of administration and management expenditure incurred against budget for the year to 31 October 2021.

Councillor Paul May asked to be assured that the underspend quoted within the budget would not be removed as it was still required to fund the vacancies mentioned.

The Service Director for Financial Control and Pensions replied that the budget is controlled by the Committee and said that there is no intention for it to be removed.

The Committee RESOLVED to note:

(i)  The administration and management expenditure incurred for 7 months to 31 October 2021.

(ii)  The Cash Flow forecast as at 31 October 2021.

The Committee RESOLVED to:

i)  Note the changes to the format of future committee reports & introduction of the Modern Gov library from March 2022

ii)  Note the introduction of the Hymans Robertson’s LGPS Online Learning Academy from January 2022.

iii)  Note the Committee & Investment Panel workplans and training programme for the relevant period.

Councillor Paul May, on behalf of the Committee, wished to thank all officers and staff within the Council, the Fund and their advisors for their continued hard work.