Agenda item

Report by the Director of Finance and Support Services.

The Committee is asked to note the updates on Business Plan activities for 2021/22 and the risk matrix.

21.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Support Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

21.2     Katharine Eberhart, Director of Finance and Support Services, introduced the report and reported that good progress had been made with employers on the information required for McCloud.  The external auditor had completed their work on the financial statements and confirmed that they gave a true reflection of the fund’s position.

21.3     The Committee made comments including those that follow.

a.    Queried when all the Annual Benefit Statements would be published.  – Katharine Eberhart confirmed that this was being worked on and that work was being done with the relevant employers to achieve as close to 100% completion as possible.

b.    Sought clarity on the role of the Pensions Committee with regard to the financial statements.  – Rachel Wood confirmed that it was the role of the Regulation, Audit and Accounts Committee (RAAC) to approve the statements, but confirmed that the statements had been shared with the Pensions Committee members as part of their training and papers.

c.    Questioned if the gaps in McCloud data was linked to a specific type of employer.  – Rachel Wood confirmed that there was not a specific employer type linked to the gaps in data.

d.    Requested an update on risk RT9 for third-party contracts.  – Rachel Wood confirmed that the risk had been amended as the primary contract for the fund was now with a single provider, rather than a number of fund managers.  As the contract developed there would be more reassurance on this risk this presented to the fund.

e.    Raised concern on the risk level for RT13 for cybercrime.  – The Chairman confirmed that this was a risk for the whole Council and that a lot of work was done in this area to reflect the risk of threat to Council systems.  Katharine Eberhart gave reassurance that specialist advice was sought in this area and that health checks were routinely performed on the Councils systems in order to prepare for attacks as much as possible.  The Chief Information Officer & Head of IT was due to attend an upcoming RAAC meeting to give further context and assurance on the work the Council are doing in this area.

f.     Sought clarity on the recommended order for training completion.  – Rachel Wood confirmed that adherence to MIFID II was important and that the Hymans Robertson LGPS Online Learning Academy (LOLA) should be the priority, followed by external training as recommended by officers.  The Pension Advisory Board also completed the Pensions Regulator toolkit and parity for the Pensions Committee was recommended.  Caroline Burton, Independent Adviser, stressed the importance of maintaining the MIFID II status in order for the fund to be able to continue to invest in the way set out in its investment strategy and receive the level of reporting required for its due diligence. Rachel Wood agreed to re-circulate the LOLA training link to the Committee.

g.    Requested an update on the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) as referenced in risk RT3.  - Rachel Wood explained that a consultation from the Government was anticipated on disclosures but there was not a reporting requirement at this time.

21.4     Steven Law, Hymans Robertson, gave an update to the Committee and explained that McCloud was not likely to impact employer contribution rates.  Steven Law agreed that Cybercrime was a big issue nationally and that it was good to see the focus that was given to it by the Council and the Fund.

21.5     Resolved – that the Committee notes the note the updates on Business Plan activities for 2021/22 and the risk matrix.