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Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Democratic Services  Email: Democratic.Services@croydon.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1/21

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 343 KB

(Report to follow)

Minutes:

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 8 December 2020 were not approved as an accurate record for the following reasons:

 

·       Need to add Councillor Pelling to the attendance

·       There were no disclosures of interest listed when Chairman had agreed that these should be included.

·       That the minute under 4/20 was substantially inaccurate and should be rewritten for approval by the Committee via email by the end of the following week.

 

 

2/21

Disclosure of Interests

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

 

Minutes:

Members declared an interest in relation to the property transfer as they are Representatives of the Employing Authority. 

 

3/21

Urgent Business (if any)

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Hay-Justice made a request that the Committee should consider appointing a Vice-Chair to ensure that in the absence of the Chairman it would still be possible to call meetings.

 

Councillor Hay-Justice moved a motion, seconded by the Chair, to appoint Councillor Pelling as Vice-Chair for the remainder of the municipal year. Following a vote the Committee:

 

RESOLVED – That Councillor Pelling be appointed as Vice-Chair for the remainder of the 20/21 municipal year.

 

Councillor Hopley requested that the concerns raised in an email from the Section 151 Officer and Interim Director for Finance, Investment and Resources regarding the property transfer be noted and reported to the next meeting of the Committee. In response to queries raised by the Committee, officers confirmed that the Pension Regulator and Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government had been watching the situation closely.

 

Councillor Hopley moved a motion, seconded by Councillor Brew, to decide whether to refer the property transfer to the Pension Regulator after it came to the next Committee. Following a vote the Committee:

 

RESOLVED – To decide whether to refer the property transfer to the Pension Regulator after it came to the next Committee.

 

Councillor Pelling wished for his objection to be noted.

 

3/21a

Exit Payment Cap pdf icon PDF 382 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which detailed which updated on the government’s decision to revoke the Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020 which would impact on the level of benefits paid to scheme members and employer strain costs paid when an LGPS member aged 55 or over exited the organisation. The Committee received an introduction from the Head of HR and Finance Service Centre.

 

In response to queries raised by the Committee, officers confirmed that no members of staff were impacted by any of these changes.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to note the report.

 

3/21b

Review of Breaches Log pdf icon PDF 229 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which detailed that it was a requirement of The Pension Regulator for the Pension Fund to maintain a breaches log detailing incidences where breaches had occurred. In line with the recommendations of the Aon Hewitt Governance Review, on 15 September 2020 the Committee agreed the revised Reporting Breaches of the Law Policy. This included a requirement for the Committee to monitor breaches on a regular basis. The Committee received an introduction from the Head of Pensions and Treasury.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to note the report.

 

 

4/21

Final Matters Arising from Governance Review pdf icon PDF 365 KB

(Report to follow)

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which advised the Committee of action taken or being taken in respect of the recommendations on specific aspects of the Fund’s governance made by Aon Hewitt in their Governance Review received by the Committee on 11 February 2020. The Committee received an introduction from the Head of Pensions and Treasury.

 

In response to queries raised by the Committee, it was clarified that the employee representative did not have voting rights, as although they were significant stakeholders, there were no decisions within the scheme that they could vote on as set out in legislation.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to note the report.

 

5/21

Governance Policy and Compliance Statement pdf icon PDF 118 KB

(Report to follow)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which detailed the updates of the Governance Best Practice Compliance Statement agreed by the Committee on 17 September 2019. The Committee received an introduction from the Head of Pensions and Treasury.

 

The Committee queried whether it was appropriate for the Chairman of the Pension Board to be a member of the Committee with voting rights and it was agreed that the Board Chairman’s role was to provide a scrutiny role to the Committee.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee the draft Governance Best Practice Compliance Statement.

 

6/21

(Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) pdf icon PDF 110 KB

(Report to follow)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which set out Key Performance Indicators for the administration of the Local Government Pension Scheme for the three-month period up to the end of January 2021. The Committee received an introduction from the Head of HR and Finance Service Centre.

 

In response to queries raised by the Committee, it was clarified that the resources of the Pension Team were protected from any Section 114 notices.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to note the report.

 

7/21

Risk Register pdf icon PDF 279 KB

(Report to follow)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which detailed that it was recommended best practice for the Pension Committee to maintain a risk register covering the most significant risks faced by the Fund. This report presented the current register (Appendix A) for the Committee’s consideration. The Committee received an introduction from the Head of Pensions and Treasury.

 

Members queried the costs and quality of the London CIV and the Committee asked for a training session to be held so that the risks and benefits could be better understood. The Committee asked for and received an explanation pertaining to the reasoning behind the amber and green status of some of the risks.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to note the report.

 

8/21

Training Records Update pdf icon PDF 227 KB

(Report to follow)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which advised the Committee of training undertaken since October 2020 and invited them to make suggestions for future training as they saw fit.

 

The Committee received an introduction from the Head of Pensions and Treasury.

 

The Committee asked that future versions of the report be produced in black and white and over two pages to make it easier to read and understand.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to note the report.

9/21

Progress Report - Quarter Ending 31 December 2020 pdf icon PDF 453 KB

(Report to follow)

Minutes:

The Pension Committee considered a report which provided an update on the London Borough of Croydon Pension Fund’s (the Fund’s) performance for the quarter to 31 December 2020. The Committee received an introduction from the Head of Pensions and Treasury.

 

The Committee asked for officers to report back to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman with a timetable for the Committee to discuss each aspect of the asset allocation strategy.

 

RESOLVED – That the Committee agreed to note Part A of the report.

 

10/21

Pension Board Report

(Report to follow)

11/21

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

Minutes:

It was MOVED and SECONDED:

 

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

 

The motion was put and it was agreed by the Committee to exclude the press and public for the remainder of the meeting.

 

12/21

Progress Report - Quarter Ended 31 December 2020