Agenda item

A report for the committee’s ongoing oversight of:

·       Scheme, Regulatory, Legal and Fund Update

·       Administration KPI update – 1 October 2024 to 30 November 2024

a)    McCloud and Pension Dashboard updates

b)    Pension Review update

·       Risk Register

·       Audit update

a)    SWAP KC actions

b)    Audit strategy 2025/26

Jennifer Devine, Head of Wiltshire Pension Fund, supported by other officers, presented the Headlines and Monitoring report. The report included but was not limited to that the Investing in the UK report was almost complete with a final draft being worked on which would be circulated to Members once ready. Furthermore, that the Wiltshire Pension Fund recently won an award for Investment Innovation in relation to the Climate Opportunities Portfolio and an individual team member who had received an award for excellence within her area of work of communications.

Detail was provided regarding the Risk Register, with it noted  that the Risk Register presented was for the month of September, However, at the Committee’s request, officers included the latest available version (the October version) in support of the September version, which had been reviewed by the Board at their last meeting. It was noted that Fund Governance had been changed from a green to an amber rating as the Pension Regulator had indicated that the pace of change to comply with the new general code of practice

should quicken. Projects had also been moved from a green rating to an amber rating as the procurement of an interface to assist with the implementation of the Pension Dashboard project had been slower than expected.

An update was provided on Audit, with it noted that there had been positive progress with the Key Controls Audit and that all that was needed now was to provide evidence in regard to complaints reporting and KPIs to SWAP and that a small extension be requested in respect of the other three audit recommendations. The Fund was also in the process of rolling out a new score card as well as appointing a Quality Assurance Officer.

Further detail was provided regarding The Pension Regulator’s new Code of practice that the Fund was still undecided on whether SWAP or an external auditor would be used for this work, however an internal assessment would be conducted to identify the best fit.

The Committee discussed the report with clarity provided regarding the availability of SWAP and that Wiltshire Pension Fund was able to use SWAP as well as seeking additional external audit support should SWAP not have availability. Such work would all be based on risk priority and the appointment of any external auditors would have to be undertaken through the procurement process due to public sector procurement rules. It was suggested by the Chairman that any proposal to seek external audit support should come to the Committee first.

A discussion took place regarding the end results of McCloud, with it noted that all onboarding and system work had been completed and that 42 affected members had been written to for uplifts in December, though the this didn’t have a big impact with the work. The criteria for being McCloud affected was also provided.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

The Committee agreed:

a)    to approve the risk register recommendations made by the Board and the officer assessment of risk as presented in the September version of the risk register:

b)    to note the SWAP Key Controls action log and approve an extension to all outstanding audit actions to 31 March 2025:

c)    to approve the scope of audit recommendations for 2025/26.