Agenda and minutes

Members of the Committee are invited to declare any financial or pecuniary interest related to specific matters on the agenda.

Please see note (a) at the end of the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made. 

To answer any written questions about matters that are within the powers and duties of the Committee. The closing date/time for the receipt of questions is 10.00am on 2nd December 2022.

To answer any oral question(s) put by members of the public.

Depending on the nature of the oral questions asked it may not be possible to provide a comprehensive answer at the meeting, in which case a written answer will be supplied as soon as reasonably possible after the meeting.

No public questions were received.

To answer any written members’ questions. The closing date/time for the receipt of questions is 10.00am on 2nd December 2022.

No member questions were received.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 23rd September 2022.

Resolved

That the Committee approved the minutes of the meeting held on the 23rd September 2022. 

To note the draft minutes of the Pension Board held on the 20th October 2022.

Resolved

That Committee noted the draft Pension Board minutes of the meeting held on the 20th October 2022.

The Committee is asked to note the funding, investment position and governance activities.  The Committee is also asked to acknowledge the Grant Thornton External Audit Findings Report and notes the Annual Report. 

The Head of Pensions presented the report which summarised the Fund’s funding position, market value, asset allocation, investment performance for the quarter ending 30 September 2022.

Members noted that by the end of the quarter to 30 September 2022, the Fund’s total market value had decreased by £36.7m to £2,887.5m and over the quarter, total Fund assets produced a negative return of -1.3%, compared to a target of -2.0%, underperforming the strategic benchmark by 0.7%. It was reported that performance over the 3 years to 30 September 2022 was 3.6% annualised which was on benchmark.  The fund was still regarded to be in a healthy position. 

In term of the Government consultation on Governance and Reporting of climate risks, which followed the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, which would require administering authorities to consider and report against the four key areas of governance, strategy, risk management and targets. Members were referred to the consultation response and it was explained that further guidance would be issued from Government in due course.  It was noted that a training workshop had taken place and the focus was on the importance of Responsible Investment (RI) and the outcomes of the workshop would help in defining the investment and RI beliefs of the Committee. 

The Head of Pensions informed Committee that there was some improvement in the Administration Key Performance Indicator's (KPI's) and the team were actively working to resolved the issues.  It was noted that as part of the governance review officers were commencing the review of the administration strategy to establish what were the relevant indicators that should be reported. Further progress will be brought back to Committee at future meetings. 

The Head of Pensions explained that newly appointed Pension Administration Manager would commence in March 2023.  It was noted that the recruitment process was ongoing in terms of the remaining Pension Officer posts but there had been an increase in the level of interest.  Nigel Gabb, Pension Investment and Accounting Manager has also started his new role on the 14th November.  The Committee were informed that recruiting across the entire LGPS sector remained a challenge as the volume of membership increased as did the complexities of peoples circumstances.  Hymans were also assisting in the training plan for new recruits as well as support staff, in order to address the long term issues. 

Member were advised that the LGPS National Knowledge assessment for 2022 had now closed at that the outcome of the assessment would be brought back to a future meeting. 

The Pension Fund Audit had concluded and members were advised that unqualified opinion was expected to be given in January 2023 by Grant Thornton.  The Head of Pensions wished to thank the Pension Team for all their efforts and hard work during the course the audit process.  The Pension Fund Annual Report, including the draft accounts, was published on or before the 1st December 2022. ,

During the discussion, members reiterated their request for the Funds performance reporting to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

The Committee is asked note the Risk Register and the current elevated risks.

The Head of Pensions explained that in accordance with the Risk Management policy agreed by Committee on 3 December 2021, progress and activity in managing risks would be monitored and recorded on a risk register and key information would be provided on a quarterly basis to the Pension Committee and the Pension Board, as part of the regular update reports on governance, investments and funding, and administration and communications. 

The Committee were advised that there were no major changes since the previous review and a number of risks remained elevated at this time. 

During the discussion, it was noted that the Corporate Risk Register was being revised to make it more clear and concise.  The Head of Pensions added the Pension Fund did not follow the Corporate Risk Register but he would look at it to see if any elements could be utilised. 

Resolved

That the Committee noted the risk register and the current elevated risks and the new risks as outlined in the report. 

That in accordance with Section 100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following agenda items, because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

Resolved

That in accordance with Section 100 A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following agenda items, because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public.

To approve as a correct record the exempt minutes of the meetings held on the 23rd September 2022.

Resolved

That the Committee approved the exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 23rd September 2022. 

To note the draft exempt minutes of the Pension Board held on the 20th October 2022.

Resolved

That Committee noted the draft Pension Board exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 20th October 2022.

The Committee is asked to approve the report recommendation. 

The Head of Pensions presented the report and explained that the report was designed to be read in conjunction with the Part 1 report, which provided more detailed analysis and commentary on the Fund’s future activities, participating employer activities and a summary of the operational aspects of the Brunel Pension Partnership, for the quarter ending 30 September 2022.

 Resolved

That the Committee noted the detailed performance reports for the quarter ending 30 September 2022 and the employer, Brunel and future investment activities of the Fund.

That the Committee supported the proposed revisions to Brunel’s Climate Change Policy

That the Committee requested officers and the Independent Advisor continue to monitor the position and report any concerns periodically. 

The Committee is asked to approve the report recommendation.

The Independent Advisor presented the report in detail and advised members

of the Fund Asset Allocation and investment performance for the quarter ending 30 September 2022.  

Resolved

That the Committee approved the revised Investment Strategy Statement.

That the Committee noted the quarterly performance report and the draft portfolio specification for the asset allocation.

The Committee received a detailed presentation from Dave Vickers, Chief Investment Officer, Brunel Pension Partnership and discussed the Performance Review in detail.