Agenda item

The Committee will receive a verbal update on this item.

The Head of Pensions addressed the Committee and explained that at the end of February the Avon Pension Fund had launched its new website and the refreshed brand logo. He said that this was a beginning of a journey and that feedback on the website would be welcome.

The Website Development Project Manager gave a presentation to the Committee, a summary of which is set out below.

·  Why have we developed a new member website?

o  The need to upgrade website platform software – as the current platform will become obsolete and unsupported during 2024.

o  Avon Pension Fund Rebrand

·  This provided the opportunity to improve:

o  Accessibility support for assistive technology like screen readers and speech recognition software.

o  Simplify the website structure and navigation (Homepage > Landing Pages > Content Pages).

·  What have we done so far?

o  Website launched on 29 February 2024

o  Rebranded ensuring colour and fonts combinations are accessible.

o  Updated the platform, adopted a version specifically developed for Local Government.

o  Website design based on new APF brand guidelines and Government accessibility recommendations.

o  Content rewritten in ‘plain English’ using an authoring framework and introduced ‘tell us’ content.

o  Secure online forms developed to capture the information needed to validate a member.

Councillor Robert Payne asked if any feedback had been received from users so far.

The Website Development Project Manager replied that feedback links have been put in place on the website and said that around 60 had been received in the last month and acted upon.

William Liew commented that he felt that the new site looked fresh and that he understood why the likely frequent enquiries tabs were at the top of the page above the corporate section, in order to reduce the number of direct contacts made with the Fund. He added that there was one link that he used though that took him to the B&NES website which obviously looks quite different to the new site and appeared to have no back button to use to return to the new site.

The Website Development Project Manager replied that the home page had been designed that way so that the key tasks are seen by members when they arrive there.

Pauline Gordon said that the site looked good. She said she had tried to access the members’ section of the site, but as she was not one, she couldn’t, this was therefore a good thing and showed a degree of security in place. She said that she did have to manually input her date of birth as the drop-down boxes did not seem to work for her at the time.

The Website Development Project Manager replied that the site is effectively split into two parts, before and after the log-in stage so only certain information will be able to be seen by members post-login.

Jackie Peel said that she had been asked to see how the process works for changing your address or submitting an expression of wish form via the new site. She said that she found it very clear and that there were three options available to change her address.

She explained that she could either login and change the address herself, submit an online form or print off a form to fill in and return by post.

She said that it was just as clear when it came to submitting an expression of wish form and that there were two options available, login and fill in the details herself or print off a form to fill in and return by post. She added that she had provided some additional feedback on this section advising that it appears quite a technical area and suggested whether some further explanatory notes might be of help to members.

She stated that the overall look and feel of the website was brilliant and she would be happy to test further if needed.

The Head of Pensions said that the feedback from all is very welcome and changes will be made where necessary as more is received.

Councillor Toby Simon commented that one of the measures of success for the new website will be to see if the rate of direct enquiries via telephone to the Fund decreases and said that he would like to see a report in around 6 – 9 months that provides that information. 

The Head of Pensions agreed and said that the team were working on defining a new set of holistic service measures, including online traffic, number of phone calls etc. so this should be picked up and something that can be relayed to the Committee.

The Committee RESOLVED to thank the officers for the update provided and note the progress that has been made.