Agenda item

[To approve the workplan for the forthcoming year and the present the Board’s training record for 2017/2018 and to identify needs for 2018/2019]

Rachel Howe, Head of Governance presented for comment and approval the Local Pension Board workplan for the forthcoming Municipal Year. The Board’s training record for 2017/2018 was also presented and the Board’s views were sought on training needs for 2018/2019.                                                            

Referring to the workplan, Councillor Sandra Samuels OBE asked whether there was merit in Trustees being designated as ‘policy champions’ to undertake work on the review of statutory and discretionary policies of the Fund.  Other Trustees supported the suggestion and the Chair asked that the list of statutory and discretionary policies of the Fund be circulated to the Board members to set their name against the policies they would wish to champion.

On behalf of District Council Finance Officers, Paul Johnson asked whether the action to ‘issue accounting disclosure for employers’ in the Customer Engagement Plan 2018 could be brought forward to April.  He also queried whether the Customer Feedback Policy related to members or employers. Rachel Brothwood, Director of Pensions reported that its primary focus was on members but the policy covered both.  In order to avoid confusion, the wording within the policy would be reviewed.  A separate procedure existed for managing employer complaints.  Simon Taylor, Head of Client and Funding Management briefly reported on that procedure. 

The Chair asked whether the Board’s training programme was appropriate for its size. The Head of Governance reported that the training programme was drafted using the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) guidelines together with the topics included in the TPR toolkit.

In response to a question the Head of Governance stated that she was unaware of the specifics of other Local Pension Boards’ training and development plans but that research would be undertaken on their open reports to determine whether similar topics were being considered by Partner Funds’ Local Pension Board.

In response to Councillor Sandra Samuels OBE, regarding a matrix to identify whether there are any gaps in the Board’s training, the Head of Governance reported that a training needs analysis would be presented to the meeting on 4 July 2018. The Director added that the training areas previously covered by the Board would also be included in the report. 

Jo McCormick asked whether the Fund’s officers could issue the Board with guided reading on topics.  The Director of Pensions reported that the Fund could look to expand upon a media roundup.

The Director also reported that the Board’s training hours record was a half year update and that Board Members were required to undertake 22 hours training a year.  She encouraged Board Members to continue to log the hours for reading in preparation for meetings and training sessions etc and asked that Board Members provide the Trustee Management Officer with a copy of their certificate of completion for the Pensions Regulator’s Trustee Toolkit.

Resolved:

1.    That the proposed workplan of the Board for the period 2018/19 be approved

2.    That the Board undertake the Pension Regulator’s Trustee Toolkit and record its completion with the Trustee Management Officer. 

3.    That the training record for the Local Pensions Board for the year to date be noted.

4.    That the work on the Fund’s statutory and operational policies to date be noted.

5.    That the list of statutory and discretionary policies of the Fund be circulated to the Board members to set their name against the policies they would wish to champion.