Agenda item

Report by Director of Finance, Performance and Procurement.

The Board is asked to note the register of policy documents and give feedback on the policies presented at the meeting.

77.1   The Board received a report by the Director of Finance (copy appended to the signed minutes).

77.2   The Chairman introduced the item and explained that the aim would be to look at two policy documents each meeting.

77.3   The Board noted the list of policy documents at appendix A and requested that future reports should list the date of implementation of the process as July 2018, and then monitor progress going forwards.

77.4   Steve Harrison introduced the Governance Policy and Compliance Statement and explained that the Governance Committee had ultimate responsibility for the pension fund, which had been delegated to the Pensions Panel.

77.5   The Board made comments including those that follow.

•    Asked if the employee representative was a Unison role.  – Steve Harrison reported that the current appointment was a retired person, who the Chairman was satisfied could maintain the role.  The appointment had been done through Unison, but was not a Unison role.  The Board queried if the role should be a ‘Member’ representative rather than ’Employee’.  Steve Harrison resolved to look into this.

•    Queried the independent advisor for the fund.  – Steve Harrison reported that this was Caroline Burton who’s expertise was in investment.  Officers assisted with governance arrangements.  Steve Harrison resolved to check the guidance for independent governance advice.

•    Asked if there should be more references to the Board, e.g. Board meeting frequency.  – Steve Harrison resolved to look into this.

•    Sought clarity on the terminology ‘usual maximum length’ of representative members.  – Steve Harrison resolved to look at the constitution wording and report back to the Board members.

•    Commented that the Board membership numbers required updating.

77.6   Tara Atkins introduced the Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) and explained that the administering authority required a separate policy for the pension fund and one for the County Council as an employer.  The policy would require a review following the completion of the Hampshire transfer.

77.7   The Board made comments including those that follow.

•    Asked if the policy covered members who thought they had been underpaid.  – Tara Atkins explained that this scenario would be covered by other processes in place.  This policy would cover ill health payment disputes.

•    Queried the Pension Regulator strategy recommendation to include the Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) within the IDRP.  – Tara Atkins explained that they did not exist anymore and the pensions ombudsmen was referenced. 

•    Sought clarity on the information required to raise a complaint.  – Tara Atkins explained that if someone sent in all relevant details, the complaint would be processed in any format.  The Board felt the guidance should be clearer on this, in that a specific application form was not required.  Tara Atkins resolved to look into this.

77.8   The Board discussed what policies should be discussed at the next meeting.  The Chairman resolved to look at the Annual Report for compliance and circulate a note to the Board members.  The Board felt it would be appropriate to look at particular policy documents after the transfer was complete.  The Chairman resolved to liaise with officers on the policies to be discussed at the next meeting.

77.9   Resolved – That the Board notes the register of policy documents.