Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Ms K Thomson, Mr G Archibald and Lord R Liddle. 

To note the Terms of Reference and membership of the Board (copy enclosed).

The Terms of Reference were noted. 

In accordance with the Board’s Terms of Reference, Lord Roger Liddle had appointed as an Employer Scheme representative for Cumbria County Council. Lord Liddle had replaced Mr D Southward who had come to the end of his four year tenure. 

Members were informed that Ms D Burnet had been appointed Chair and Ms K Powell as Vice Chair for the ensuing two years.  This was in accordance with the Board’s Terms of Reference.

Mrs S Entwistle replaced Ms K Thomson as a member of the Board for this meeting only.

Mr P Turner, a member of the Cumbria Pensions Committee, sat in the public gallery to observe the meeting.

Members are invited to disclose any disclosable pecuniary interest they have in any item on the agenda which comprises

1          Details of any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

2          Details of any payment or provision of any other financial benefit (other than from the authority) made or provided within the relevant period in respect of any expenses incurred by you in carrying out duties as a member, or towards your election expenses.  (This includes any payment or financial benefit from a trade union within the meaning of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

3          Details of any contract which is made between you (or a body in which you have a beneficial interest) and the authority

(a)     Under which goods or services are to be provided or works are to be executed; and

            (b)     Which has not been fully discharged.

4          Details of any beneficial interest in land which is within the area of the authority. 

5          Details of any licence (alone or jointly with others) to occupy land in the area of the authority for a month or longer. 

6          Details of any tenancy where (to your knowledge)

            (a)     The landlord is the authority; and

            (b)     The tenant is a body in which you have a beneficial interest.

7          Details of any beneficial interest in securities of a body where

(a)     That body (to your knowledge) has a place of business or land in the area of the authority; and

(b)       Either –

(i)        The total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body; or

(ii)       If that share capital of that body is of more than one class, the total nominal value of the shares of any one class in which the relevant person has a beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.

In addition, you must also disclose other non-pecuniary interests set out in the Code of Conduct where these have not already been registered.

Note

A “disclosable pecuniary interest” is an interest of a councillor or their partner (which means spouse or civil partner, a person with whom they are living as husband or wife, or a person with whom they are living as if they are civil partners).

There were no disclosures of interest made on this occasion.

To consider whether there are any items on the agenda for which the press and public should be excluded.

RESOLVED,     that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of:

Agenda Item No 10 – Review of Administration Matters;

Agenda Item No 11 – LPPA Presentation; and

Agenda Item No 12 – Verbal Update on Emerging Issues

by virtue of paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as the reports contain information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding that information).

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Cumbria Local Pension Board meeting held on 1 July 2021 (copy enclosed).

Corrections:

Page 11, Minute 65, first paragraph, 2^nd line. Replace ‘Jelf Insurance’ with ‘Mercer Limited’.

Page 14, Minute 69, third paragraph, 1^st line. Delete sentence to the end after ‘on’ and replace with ‘matters the Pensions Committee has asked the Board to review on its behalf’.

RESOLVED,     that subject to the corrections above, the minutes of the previous meeting held on 1 July 2021 be agreed as a true and accurate record.

To note the Schedule of future meetings (copy enclosed).

Members noted the schedule of meetings of the Cumbria LGPS Local Pension Board.

The Chair asked officers to review the Board’s meeting dates and how they fit in with the Cumbria Pensions Committee meeting dates. This was to enable Board members to have information as far in advance as possible. This would be brought back to a future meeting of the Board for consideration.

RESOLVED  that, officers review future Board meeting dates and this be brought back to the Board for discussion at a future meeting.

To receive an update from the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) (copy enclosed).

Members considered a report from the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) which updated them on all aspects of the governance and administration of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The report summarised the work conducted, and decisions made by the Committee at its meeting held on 21 September 2021, in order that Board Members could review these as part of their legal responsibility to members of the Fund. It also advised of other matters arising, including regulatory changes, since last reported to the Board. 

The Technical Finance Officer took members through the report. Members’ attention was drawn to the Draft Annual Report and Accounts to 31 March 2021 which had been approved for publication. It was welcomed that Cumbria had been one of a small number of local authorities that had met the deadline to publish unqualified audited accounts by 30 September. No legal breaches had been reported to the Pensions Regulator. Although there had been no risks added to the Risk Register, members were given details about the two emerging risks: Local Government Reform and Climate Change.

Members were informed about the summary of findings from The Pensions Regulator’s Public Service Pension Schemes – Governance and Administration Survey 2020-21. A number of highlights from the survey were presented to members. This included business continuity plans in place prior to the COVID 19 pandemic and financial risks and opportunities arising from climate change. It was welcomed that in terms of cyber security, Cumbria LGPS had all 14 controls in place.

Members were provided with an update on the McCloud Resolution. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) was expected to release its response to the consultation shortly and the Board would be advised when further information was available. The Fund had responded to two consultations (Special Severance Payments and The Pensions Regulator’s Consolidated Code of Practice) and these were detailed for the Board.

It was stated that at its September 2021 meeting, the Pensions Committee had approved the recommendation which had requested that the Board monitor the Fund’s response to the Good Governance Review and then report back on this to the Committee.

In terms of Information Security Arrangements and cyber security, a member stated that there had not been any movement from the current risk score to the target risk score. She queried whether it was feasible to attain the target risk score and what would it entail to achieve it. The Group Finance Manager – Pensions, Investments and Insurance explained that the Fund’s target risk score reflected that previously shown in the County Council’s Risk Register.  It was noted that a significant proportion of the Fund’s data was held by the Local Pensions Partnership - Administration (LPPA), who had Information Security Arrangements as an amber risk. The Operations Director - LPPA explained how a recent audit had identified this as an amber risk.

A member asked whether the Fund should have its own risk assessment and its own information security arrangements rather than rely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

To receive an update from the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) (copy enclosed).

Members considered a report from the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) which updated them on the final Phase III Report on Good Governance in the LGPS, which was published by the Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) in February 2021.  The SAB Report made a number of recommendations to improve governance within Funds and across the LGPS. The report summarised the recommendations within the Good Governance Review and set out the how the Fund proposed (subject to approval by Pensions Committee) to implement some of the recommendations ahead of the production of revised Regulations or statutory guidance in order to further enhance governance within the Fund.

The Group Finance Manager - Pensions, Investments and Insurance guided members through the report. He explained how the Board was kept up to date with the work that the SAB had commissioned regarding a review of Good Governance in the LGPS and that at the last Board meeting, the findings of the final report and recommendations had been reported. He noted that to date, there had been no comment from the DLUHC on when the recommendations in the final report would be actioned but the Board had noted that where possible, Cumbria should seek to implement some of them before any statutory guidance or revised Regulations were issued.

At the 21 September 2021 Pensions Committee meeting, members had welcomed the proposal from the Board’s Chair, that the Board would be responsible for reviewing the Fund’s response to the Good Governance Review.

The Board was informed of the recommendations from the Good Governance Review which had been incorporated into the Fund’s 2020/21 Annual Report. Officers were waiting for the response from DLUHC on proposed updated scheme regulations or statutory guidance to enable further recommendations to be responded to. Board Members would be updated at future meetings on this matter.

The outgoing Chair of the Board welcomed the progress made to date and looked forward to the guidance being received.

RESOLVED, that the Board

(1)      Noted the update on actions to be taken to address the findings of the Good Governance review prior to the implementation of statutory guidance by the DLUHC.

To note that the next meeting will be held on 21 January 2022 at 13:00.

The next meeting will be held on 21 January 2022 at 1pm.

To receive an update from the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer) (copy enclosed).

Members considered a report from the Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer), which detailed the more specific items of note within the Local Pension Board arena relating to Pensions’ Administration matters.

Officers provided detailed responses to member questions on the deadlines that employers must adhere to for their payment of contributions, targets relating to deficit paymentsand metrics monitoring of the performance of the AVC administration. A short discussion took place on the performance of the AVC providers.

RESOLVED,   that the Board note the Pension Administration matters detailed in the report.

Rachel Blundell, Operations Director – Pensions Administration, Local Pensions Partnership has been invited to make a presentation to the Board.

Members received a verbal update from Ms R Blundell, Operations Director - Local Pension Partnership Administration (LPPA).  The update included :-

·         Performance in Quarter 1 and 2 and issues raised within both Quarters

·         Progress and challenges related to the implementation of new Pensions Administration software

·         LPPA’s website update

·         Preparations for the implementation of the McCloud resolution, including recruitment for the additional workloads

A member requested that LPPA’s McCloud communications and project plans be circulated to the Board.

The Operations Director - Local Pension Partnership Administration answered a member question on which organisation which would pay the administration costs for cases affected by the McCloud case

RESOLVED  that, the position be noted.

To receive a general verbal update from Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer).

The Senior Manager - Pensions and Financial Services updated the Board on current emerging issues, which included the impact of Local Government Reform on the LGPS, the Triennial Valuation and the training session to be held at the next Board meeting which would be a refresher on roles and responsibilities in the LGPS.

The Board was advised that the next meeting of the Cumbria Pensions Forum would take place on 11 November 2021, at Penrith Rugby Club.

RESOLVED  that, the position be noted.