Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors Jonathan Seed and Steve Heyes.

Councillor Heyes was substituted by Councllor Vijay Manro.

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the Part I (public) minutes of the previous meeting held on 26 May 2022.

The public minutes of the meeting held on 26 May 2022 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations.

To receive any announcements through the Chairman.

There were no announcements.

To review progress on any actions requested by the Committee in previous meetings.

The Committee reviewed the update on ongoing actions as detailed in the agenda.

It was,

Resolved:

To note the action log.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Local Pension Board held on 5 May 2022.

To review the summary of the recommendations made by the Board.

The Committee received the public minutes of the Local Pension Board meeting on 5 May 2022, and reviewed the recommendations of that meeting, which related to the Headlines and Monitoring and Key Financial Control items of the agenda.

Further detail was sought on the review of the level of council recharge to the fund. It was stated Fund officers had met with Finance to cost services received from the council and had provided comment. A report would be taken to the Committee with details of any new charge.

It was then,

Resolved:

To note the minutes of the Local Pension Board.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on 21 July 2022  in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on 25 July 2022. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

No questions or statements were received.

To receive a report for the committee’s ongoing oversight of:

·       Scheme, Regulatory, Legal and Fund Update

·       Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

a)    Period – 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022

b)    New Fund reporting structure

·       Risk Register

·       Internal audit update

·       Training update 

The Committee considered the report presented by Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, Richard Bullen, Fund Governance & Performance Manager and Andy Cunningham, Pension Administrative Lead, which provided information highlighting key issues and developments to enable the Committee to fulfil its monitoring role.

Details were provided regarding investment performance with a 2.6% reduction for the quarter to the end of March 2022, with a challenging second quarter predicted due to global events. Further updates would be provided at the meeting on 5 September 2022.

There was discussion of the auditing of accounts which was behind schedule due to national resourcing issues with Deloitte. It was requested the Treasurer of the Pension Fund be contacted on behalf of the Committee for clarification on the situation and any plans to improve the service.

Details were sought on expectations of reasonable and adequate investment returns during a short and medium period of higher inflation. The importance of cashflow management during that period was highlighted.

The Committee also discussed the Pensions dashboard and impact of the McCloud case, with it currently being stated there would be more of an administrative than cost impact for the Fund, with historical data being collected for any future need to make corrections.

There was discussion of key performance indicators, how the data was being generated, and ongoing monitoring of current as well as historical information. It was also noted that reporting arrangement to the Committee would be reviewed to ensure the required information was received in the most appropriate manner and timescale.

The Committee also reviewed the risk register, and sought clarification on the rating of risks relating to disruptions due to the Evolve programme to replace the SAP system used for payroll and other financial administration.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

To approve the changes to the Risk Register and accept the recommendations for changes submitted by the Board.

The Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund will present a report updating members on progress against the Plan’s objectives.

A report was received from the Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund on the progress toward actions set out in the Fund Business Plan for 2022/23.

It was then,

Resolved:

To note the progress against actions set out in the Business Plan.

A update by the Senior Investment and Accounting officer concerning the operational accounting arrangements and the 2021-22 Budget Outturn.

A report was received regarding significant issues in relation to the Fund’s Key Financial Controls.

It was stated the draft accounts and working papers had been provided to auditors ahead of deadlines, although due to delays with the council accounts being audited there had not been signoff for the previous two years.

There was discussion of the ongoing payroll reconciliation to correct discrepancies between the SAP Payroll records and Altair pension administration system, with concern raised that the number identified had increased.

There was discussion of the growing backlog of unallocated transfers in, i.e. where the money had been received but had not been credited to the member’s account on Altair, also an action identified by SWAP during the internal audit.  In these cases the member would receive their benefits in due course but the Annual Benefit Statements being sent out would be incorrect at this time.  Officers confirmed that this matter would be addressed as a priority.

There was also discussion of running costs.

It was then,

Resolved:

To note the Key Financial Controls update.

Presentation of the draft Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22 and an update on any external audit finding.

The Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, Jennifer Devine, presented the draft Fund Annual Report and accounts. Details were provided on updated communications materials and strategies to engage members and stakeholders.

The Committee discussed the report, and requested an explanation be included setting out why the report would be published although the accounts were at present unaudited, due to ongoing issues with the auditing of the council accounts separate to the Fund and nationwide audit resourcing issues.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

1)    To approve the proposed publication of the unaudited annual report and accounts 2021/2022 and summary documents, and authorise officers to make any necessary minor amendments following the conclusion of the audit after consultation with the Chairman of the Wiltshire Pension Fund Committee;

2)    To approve the going concern statement in Appendix 1

To approve the updated Pension Administration Strategy document. To be presented by the Pension Administration Lead

The Pensions Administration Lead, Andy Cunningham, presented a report on proposed revisions to the Pensions Administration Strategy. This included a service level agreement to apply to all employers in the Fund, who had been consulted as part of the review of the strategy.

At the end of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

To approve the revised Pensions Administration Strategy.

To review the updated administration charging policy. To be presented by the Pension Administration Lead.

The Pensions Administration Lead, Andy Cunningham, presented proposed changes to the Fund’s Employer Charging Policy. Details of costs were provided in the appendix to the report.

In response to queries it was confirmed the policy would be provided to employers alongside the updated administration strategy.

It was then,

Resolved:

To approve the revised Employer Charging Policy.

To receive an update report on the progress of this project.

The Pensions Administration Lead, Andy Cunningham, presented a report on the ongoing pensioner payroll database reconciliation project.

The number of cases had been updated, and the intention was to appoint an outside provider to work through the remaining material cases.

The Committee sought details that though there had been an increase in cases, officers were confident the level of cases was now correct. It was stated that identification of errors was now a more known process, and the tender for the outside provider included the possibility of some further cases being identified.

At the end of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

To note the update on the project.

To review the work plan for the committee 2022-23.

The forward work plan was received and it was,

Resolved:

To note the committee forward work plan.

The next ordinary meeting of the Committee will be held on 5 September 2022.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 5 September 2022.

Any other items of business which, in the opinion of the Chairman, should be considered as a matter of urgency.

Urgent items of a confidential nature may be considered under Part II of this agenda.

There were no urgent items.

To consider passing the following resolution:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Item Numbers 19 onwards  because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

It was,

Resolved:

To agree that in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public from the meeting for the business specified in Minute Numbers 165-169  because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

To approve and sign as a true and correct record the Part II (private) minutes of the previous meeting held on 26 May 2022.

The Part II private minutes of the meeting held on 26 May 2022 were presented for consideration, and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes as a true and correct record.

To review the private (Part II) minutes of the meeting of the Local Pension Board on 5 May 2022.

The Committee received the Part II private minutes of the Local Pension Board meeting on 5 May 2022.

It was then,

Resolved:

To note the minutes of the Local Pension Board.

A report by officers setting out the scope and timetable for this review. To receive feedback from members following the cyber security workshop

A report was received on the Cyber Security Review requested by the Committee. A workshop had been held on 21 July 2022 to identify how cyber security could affect Pension Funds, and assessing compliance with the Pension Regulator’s guidance.

The Committee discussed the report, how compliance could be achieved, and the need for ongoing discussions with the council’s IT services.

It was then,

Resolved:

To note the progress of the review and to receive an additional report at a future meeting.

To receive a report on the annual investment management fees for the previous financial year.

A report was received setting out the Fund investment management annual fees and costs for 2021/22.

The Committee sought additional details on the process by which fees were calculated and reviewed, and of any ongoing costs.

It was then,

Resolved:

To note the Fund investment management fees and costs for 2021/22.

To receive a verbal update on the report from officers summarising the ongoing Brunel governance arrangements.

A verbal update was received from Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund and the Chairman.

Details were provided of recent discussions with the Brunel Oversight Board and future development of a five year strategy.