Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 3 - Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG. View directions
Contact: Maheen Nusrat, Committee Officer Tel: 020 7364 4878; E-mail: maheen.nusrat@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Annette McKenna, John Gray, David Stephen Thompson and Steve Hill.
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DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS PDF 67 KB Minutes: None
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VARY ORDER OF BUSINESS Minutes: The Chair also indicated that he thought it appropriate that the Order of Business be varied so that the board is presented the presentation items first.
Accordingly the Chair Moved the following motion for the consideration of Board Members, and it was: -
Resolved
That the Order of Business be varied to have the presentations first. To aid clarity, the minutes are presented in the order that the items originally appeared on the agenda.
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PETITIONS Minutes: No petitions were received.
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MINUTES OF PREVIOUS PENSIONS BOARD MEETING PDF 154 KB To approve as a correct record of proceedings, the minutes of the meetings held on the 26th of November 2018. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 26 NOV 2018 were agreed and approved as a correct record with the below comments:
Item 9, Page 11: MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS PENSIONS COMMITTEE
In response to a question about Tower Hamlets having a presentation on the CIV board, Bola Tobun is drafting a letter which will be reviewed by Neville Murton and sent to the CIV. London CIV has 2 AGMs a year. Pension committee chair will be attending meetings on a quarterly basis and she can raise it at the general meeting that she attends, but the letter will be sent well before that. Bola Tobun will check when the next meeting is. Chair suggested updating at the next week’s Pensions Committee meetings.
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SUBMISSIONS FROM PENSION FUND MEMBERS To receive verbal submissions. Minutes: None |
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SUBMISSIONS / RESPONSES FROM PENSION COMMITTEE To receive written representations from the Pensions Committee. Minutes: Chair drew attention to Pension Committee papers, page 10 referencing the report that the he presents at the Pension Committee.
The report is written by him to take comments and reports from the Pensions Board to be submitted for consideration at the Pensions Committee. The Committee it was noted has been responsive to any recommendations by the Board.
The report acts as an important link between the Board and Committee.
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PRESENTATION FROM LAPFF-LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND ACTIVITIES UPDATE Minutes: The Board received a presentation from the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum
Board Members received the following information noted in summary below:
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PENSIONS BOARD REPORTS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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Training & Development Plans For Pension Board Members For 2019/20 PDF 341 KB Minutes: The Board received a report that set out the need for a training and development programme for both the Members of the Pension Board and Committee. The report outlined the recommendations for the Board for the need for training. The report has been brought to the Board before the beginning of the new municipal year so that the Board can agree a framework and training programme for the next financial year.
The Board then asked a number of questions about the proposals and the points raised are summarised below:
The Board noted that:
· A straight forward framework has been adopted in the areas of knowledge that the Board members should have as outlined in the report). · There are 5 main areas outlined in the report and that there will be various training programmes that will be on offer. · Investment & Treasury Team pointed out that the date recorded in section 3.31 on page 18 is incorrect. A new date for the year 2019 has yet to be agreed with the Governance Team. · Chair had proposed to plan a training programme several months ahead so that people can schedule the training dates in their diaries ahead of time and are able to attend. The Investment & Treasury Manager pointed out that if she is unaware of the areas people feel they are lacking in, then she cannot forward details of relevant trainings. · It has been suggested that it would be useful to have a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities and then based on that highlight areas that Members need training on. · Investment & Treasury Manager had drawn the attention of the Board to the Terms of References in the attached to the report. · The statutory requirement is for the Board to have expertise in Pensions whereas the same is not applicable to the Committee. The Chair pointed out though that the Committee does have a requirement to take advice from the Board. There is a discussion going on in the LGA about the roles and responsibilities and what requirements there are as the regulators require a certain level of training for the Board. This is also an issue that is being discussed on a national level and it was hoped that changes/clarification will be seen in the months ahead. · The preferred training time for members is evening: start time 5:30PM - 7:30PM was agreed by members. · There should be combined training with Pensions Committee, with some of the training sessions at 5:30, some at a later start at 6/6:30pm. It was also suggested that food be provided at training sessions so as to allow members coming from straight work so as to eat. · A spreadsheet is kept by the Investment and Treasury Management Team about the monitoring and record keeping of the training. However, there is no record of training which various individuals have attended. If members are completing the Pension Regulator modules, it is advised that they should inform Treasury Management Team once the training has been completed so that records can ... view the full minutes text for item 9.1 |
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Local Pension Board General Remit and LBTH Pensions Board Work Plan For 2019/20 PDF 111 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board received the report of Bola Tobun, Investment and Treasury Manager, on the draft work plan for the Pension Board 2019/20.
The Board then asked a number of questions about the report and the points raised are summarised below:
The Board:
· Noted that the report outlined the general remit of a local Pension Board; the indicative Work Plan for 2019/20 for Tower Hamlets Pensions Board and the Role and Responsibilities of the Pension Board are; · Was advised that their purpose was to monitor internal and external audit reports, monitor performance of administration. · Was reminded that whilst it has been undertaking external audit reports it has not yet undertaken any monitoring internal audit reports · Was informed that the last internal audit report had presented to them in 2016 and since then. However, the internal audit reports are now being circulated and should be available to the Board for the year 2017/2018; · Suggested that a spreadsheet of complaints should be presented to the them and it was suggested for the Pensions Team to add this as an additional element to their report. As complaints are received through the council’s iCasework and the data is extractable from that system. · On the nature of complaints are diverse, most pertain to the lack of response in a timely manner. Many people also go directly to the complaints process having had never actually contacted the council to raise the issues and allowing an opportunity to rectify. · Noted the review of the Terms and Conditions that Tower Hamlets is currently undertaking will not have an impact on the work plan as it does not impact the Pensions Fund. The changes will not affect people’s entitlement which is a statutory requirement nor will it affect the funding levels of the fund as contributions will remain the same. The only way it would impact the fund is if there was a rapid contraction in the work force. If there was such an impact, then the impact of such changes would be looked at by both the Board and the Pensions Committee. · Was informed that it the work plan is an ongoing process and Board Members have been contributing on a regular basis towards the Plan. · Considered the question of switching to a digital platform rather than posting out paper statements and noted that IT is being brought back in house from Agilisys and the Council is currently renegotiating the contracts to implement the building of a self-service portal and it is hoped to have this finalised by end of the month. Although there is no deadline as such for when the Council will become paperless the initial target is to be 80% paperless by the end of the year.
It was also suggested that the Board:
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS PENSIONS COMMITTEE PDF 116 KB To receive for information, the minutes of the Pensions Committee Meeting held on 29th of November 2018. Minutes: It was noted that Colin Robertson and John Jones had been in attendance at the 29th November 2018 meeting and the minutes needed to be amended to reflect that.
RESOLVED:
1. The amended version of the minutes to have John Jones and Colin Robertson in attendance.
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PENSIONS COMMITTEE AGENDA FOR THE FORTHCOMING MEETING PDF 10 MB |
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Pensions Committee Agenda_13MAR2019 PDF 81 KB Minutes: The Board then asked a number of questions about the proposals and the points raised are summarised below:
The Board noted with regard to the:
ACTIONS:
The Board was presented with the Performance of the Fund Report-Quarter ending Dec 2018 in the Pensions Committee Agenda. The following points were highlighted and summarised as listed below:
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DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting is provisionally scheduled for 17 June, 2019 subject to approval from Full Council.
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ANY OTHER UNRESTRICTED BUSINESS Verbal update on London CIV Pension recharge and guarantee
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London CIV Pension recharge and guarantee. Minutes: The Board received a verbal update on the London CIV that relates to the London CIV LGPS Limited Employee Pension Scheme (‘LCIV Pension Scheme’) Guarantee and Recharge agreements.
The Board:
ACTIONS:
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EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC Minutes: As the agenda circulated contained no exempt/confidential business and there was therefore no requirement to exclude the press and public to allow for its consideration.
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RESTRICTED MINUTES Minutes: Nil Items |
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RESTRICTED MINUTES OF THE PENSIONS COMMITTEE Minutes: Nil items |
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ANY OTHER RESTRICTED BUSINESS Minutes: Nil items |