Agenda and minutes

It was moved by Mr. Morris and seconded by Mr. Cross:

“That Dr. John Bloxham be elected Vice Chairman for the period until the next Annual Meeting of Council”.

RESOLVED:

That Dr. John Bloxham be elected Vice Chairman for the period until the next Annual Meeting of the County Council in 2026.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 June 2025 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35.

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations were made.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which provided information of the main administrative actions in the first quarter period from April to June 2025. The report also covered governance areas, including administration of Fund benefits and the performance of the Pension Section against its performance indicators.

Arising from discussion, the following points were made:

1. A Member raised concerns regarding the Fund’s position on climate change. Officers clarified that climate change is treated as a financial risk, and the Fund is structured to avoid adverse impacts regardless of differing views on the issue.

2. Clarification was provided on the performance tables, confirming that the maximum target number of cases represented the desired upper limit for cases carried forward each month.

3. Members noted that a new MSS portal was being introduced. Employers would be informed and supported with communications for their staff. The transition would be seamless, with no planned downtime. Although the provider had not yet completed the build, confidence remained that the provider would meet the delivery timeline.

4. Officers proposed updating records for 5,600 deferred members using addresses provided by a tracing agency. The Board was informed that previous outreach attempts had yielded limited responses. The scale of the task was acknowledged, however, officers were concerned about the data matching for the pension’s dashboard regarding the importance of accurate addresses to avoid partial matches and potential regulatory scrutiny. Members supported proceeding with the update using the tracing data.

5. Members suggesting using website messaging with set deadlines to encourage deferred members to update records. It was noted that deferred members were geographically dispersed, which would limit the effectiveness of localised campaigns. Officers confirmed that any correspondence to scheme members contained minimal personal data to mitigate risks in the event of mis delivery.

6. The Board supported the proposal to proceed with updating deferred member records using the tracing agency’s data, recognising the need to improve data accuracy and reduce the risk of regulatory intervention.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the Pension Fund Administration Report, April to June 2025 – Quarter One be noted.

b)    That the Board considered and supported the updating of deferred member records using tracing agency data.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources the purpose of which was to seek comment on the appended Annual Report and Accounts of the Pension Fund for the financial year 2024/25. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 7’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were made:

1. A Member requested executive summaries of Fund charges and comparative data with other large public sector pension funds, covering both investment and administration costs. Comparative data over 1, 5, and 10 years was also requested to assess how well the Fund is performing. Officers noted the annual report included benchmarking of administration costs, (for example the cost per member) but excluded investment costs. The report’s structure and content were prescribed by the Scheme Advisory Board, including nationally agreed key performance indicators, which were now mandatory. Officers would explore whether additional comparative data could be included, subject to reporting constraints.

2. With regard to investment fees, investment costs were monitored as a percentage of assets under management and reported to the Committee. Officers would check the availability of comparative investment fee data.

3. A Member raised concern about the Fund’s approach to net zero, including shareholder activism, divestment from certain sectors, and investments driven by ideology rather than financial return, and suggested the Fund should focus on maximising returns, and queried how the current approach could be re-evaluated. It was explained that climate and responsible investment strategies fell under the Local Pension Committee’s remit and were approved by the Committee. It was noted that a review of those strategies was underway, and would include a consultation with scheme members, following which results would be presented to the Committee.

4. Members were informed the Fund maintained fiduciary duty to maximise returns, whilst managing risks associated with climate and responsible investment in a balanced way.

The Chairman thanked officers and the team for the work undertaken on the report.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the Annual Report and Accounts of the Pension Fund for the financial year 2024/25 be noted.

b)    That the Director of Corporate Resources be requested to review scope for including more comparative data in future reports.

The Board considered a report which sought the Board’s approval of the Local Pension Board Annual Report for the financial year 2024/25. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 8’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were made:

i.          The Chairman commented in relation to administering the Fund effectively through ongoing pressures, such as the McCloud judgement, and legislative changes to be introduced, the impact on the team’s resources and performance was acknowledged and stated that the Board would provide backing for justified additional support required to allow the team to flex to deliver on the agreed priorities.

ii.          The Chairman referred to the Training Policy and training plan for 2025 for Members of the Board and Local Pension Committee, also emphasising the requirement for Members to keep a level of awareness of legislative and policy changes and possible impact on the Fund and its operations, with training delivered in-house and externally through Hymans Robertson (the Fund’s Actuary) and other external training required to provide a level of scrutiny, and support to the Board and officers.

iii.          Further recognised was the hard work done by officers in the finance department, Pensions Team and supporting officers to the Board, reflected in the service delivered to scheme members, evidence in the payment of benefits and processing of information.

iv.          Members thanked the former Chairman, Mrs. Rosita Page CC, for her chairmanship, and who had ensured from a political level there was the right support for the pension fund.

RESOLVED:

That the Local Pension Board Annual Report for 2024/25 be approved.

The Board considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which provided information on changes relating to the risk management and internal controls of the Pension Fund, as stipulated in The Pension Regulator’s Code of Practice. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion, the following points were made:

i.          In response to a question, McCloud remained a major concern, causing ongoing stress due to its complexity. Significant progress had been made, especially with annual benefit statements. Focus has shifted to pensions in payment, with over 400 cases being reviewed. Each case required about half a day to check and additional time for payroll implementation and member communication.

ii.          It was noted that payroll changes were being implemented, to commence in October 2025. Future tasks would include handling transfers, and deaths. A deadline extension had been granted until 31 August 2026, which was standard across all funds.

iii.          Despite the extension, the timeline remained tight due to the first-time implementation of dashboards, ongoing business-as-usual operations, KPI reviews, the launch of the new website and member self-service, and increasing numbers of employers and scheme members.

RESOLVED:

That the report on Risk Management and Internal Controls be noted.

The next meeting of the Local Pension Board is scheduled for 29 October 2025, at 10.00am.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting to be held on 29 October 2025, at 10.00am.