Agenda and draft minutes
PDF 180 KBVenue: Woodhatch Place, 11 Cockshot Hill, Reigate RH2 8EF
Contact: Angela Guest Email: angela.guest@surreycc.gov.uk
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from David Lewis and Siobhan Kennedy who both attended online.
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MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING: 16 FEBRUARY 2024
To agree the minutes as a true record of the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: The minutes were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.
Notes: · In line with the Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012, declarations may relate to the interest of the member, or the member’s spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom the member is living as husband or wife, or a person with whom the member is living as if they were civil partners and the member is aware they have the interest. · Members need only disclose interests not currently listed on the Register of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests. · Members must notify the Monitoring Officer of any interests disclosed at the meeting so they may be added to the Register. · Members are reminded that they must not participate in any item where they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.
Additional documents: Minutes: There were none. |
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QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS
To receive any questions or petitions.
Notes:
1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (13/05/2024). 2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (10/05/2024) 3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received. Additional documents: Minutes: There were none. |
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GLOSSARY, ACTION TRACKER & FORWARD PLAN
For Members to consider and comment on the Board’s recommendations tracker and workplan.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Neil Mason, LGPS Senior Officer
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The LGPS Senior Officer highlighted two closed actions of 2/23 and 56/23. In relation to action 55/33 he explained that there had been a meeting with the Chairs and the programme team which would be discussed further under the Risk Register item on the agenda. 2. In response to a query from the Chair the LGPS Senior Officer stated that whilst the Training Policy was to be reviewed annually it may be helpful to the Board if they had a summary of the expectations or requirements of the new policy which was more user friendly. Actions/ further information to be provided: To provide Board Members with a summary of requirements of the new training policy.
Recommendations: 1. The report and annexes were noted with no recommendations made to the Pension Fund Committee.
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SUMMARY OF THE PENSION FUND COMMITTEE MEETING OF 22 MARCH 2024
This report provides the Local Pension Board (the Board) with a summary of the Surrey Pension Fund Committee (the Committee) meeting held since the last meeting of the Board. Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Nick Harrison, Chair Surrey Pension Fund Committee Neil Mason, LGPS Senior Officer
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Chair of the Surrey Pension Fund Committee (Committee) gave a precis of items that the Pension Fund Committee had discussed at its last meeting. This included the Committee’s investment beliefs which were under discussion and further meetings were to be held on this topic. 2. In response to a Member question the Chair of the Committee confirmed that all Board and Committee Members would be invited to discuss the investment beliefs. The notes of the first meeting would be provided to the Board and the Committee Chair would be happy to accept any comments from the Board. 3. A Member asked what action would be taken if Surrey County Council (SCC) declared a climate emergency. The Chair of the Committee explained that: 4. The LGPS Senior Officer explained that governance was being reviewed with a clearer separation of the Fund and Council functions being explored.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted with no recommendations made to the Pension Fund Committee.
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SURREY PENSION TEAM OVERVIEW - QUARTER 4
This report is being presented for the first time. The intention is to give an overview of the entire service at a macro level in order to set the context for the following micro level reports from each area. The One Pensions Team Dashboard is the primary vehicle for providing this overview. Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Nicole Russell – Head of Change Management (online) Neil Mason, LGPS Senior Officer
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Head of Change Management introduced the rolling dashboard which was a snapshot of the metrics taken on the last day of the quarter that it represented. She explained that there had been improvements in nearly all areas and those that were down were within tolerance levels of normal fluctuation. The legacy reduction programme was going well. 2. A Member asked for a metric on the vacancy rate to which the LGPS Senior Officer responded that officers could report on the vacancy rate. 3. The Head of Change Management also explained that officers were looking at a change of IT platform for the dashboard so that those with an external email could access the dashboard.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted.
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CHANGE PROGRAMME UPDATE - QUARTER 4
This paper details the Change Team Quarterly Report for the period January-March 2024.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Nicole Russell – Head of Change Management (online)
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Head of Change Management highlighted the following areas of this report:
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted.
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ADMINISTRATION PERFORMANCE REPORT AND UPDATE - 1 JANUARY 2024 TO 31 MARCH 2024
The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the current status and progress against any specific target dates.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Tom Lewis, Head of Service Delivery
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Head of Service Delivery highlighted the following areas on the report: a) Performance levels had remained broadly the same as previous quarter. There were still a few areas to be addressed for example notification of ill health and death benefit payments. Unit 4 continued to impact the way in which some cases were coming through and the levels of priority that had to be given from time to time. However, there isn’t a lot of work stacking up and staff are getting through the work. b) The customer Relationship team numbers remained consistent with 87% of queries being dealt with at the point the call was made. It was expected that there would be a rise in queries next quarter due to annual benefit statements being sent out. c) In response to a Member query regarding the number of login issues the Head of Service Delivery responded that this was down to people forgetting their login and that it was not easy to change it. He was looking at ways to improve this position. d) There had been little movement on GMP as the same people that are working on GMP had moved their efforts to Pensions Increase and other required work around McCloud. Aptia, the third party provider, were working with the team to re-establish requirements and ensuring that it was meeting the expectation of what was wanted. It was hoped to see GMP work finished by the end of this year. e) The number of cases completed for the legacy case reduction was significant, however, this rate may go down as the legacy team will be used to help with any work generated from MySurrey.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted with no recommendations made to the Pension Fund Committee.
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RISK REGISTER UPDATE 2023/24 QUARTER 4
This report considers changes made to the risk register for the Surrey Pension Team in Quarter 4 of 2023/24.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Paul Titcomb, Head of Accounting & Governance Tom Lewis, Head of Service Delivery Neil Mason, LGPS Senior Officer
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. A Member queried risk 13 on regulatory compliance and would the expectation be that once the work on those areas around GMP and McCloud was complete that the assessment of the likelihood would drop and the risk profile decrease? The Head of Service Delivery stated that this was difficult to answer because the risk noted in the register is broader than those specific areas and it is not clear what might be coming from government legislation further ahead. So it could be that those two material items are cleared and at that point the risk on those items alone has come right down only for something else to require the assessment to go back up again. 2. The Chair stated that he had a potential issue with risks 13 and 14 which he felt could be rated as unlikely but having heard what the Head of Service Delivery said that the risk area was broader so maybe those risks should stay as they are. The Head of Service Delivery responded that this was an inherent risk and ratings would fluctuate accordingly. 3. The Head of Accounting & Governance stated that the ongoing issues with MySurrey had been well articulated in the report and annex. The payroll data area had been a significant issue. The primary issue was with access and reporting out of the system. 4. A Member asked if the position was that the information coming through from other employers or employers, other than Surrey County Council, was now more readily going into the pension fund and meeting pension fund requirements? The Head of Service Delivery responded that from an employer data perspective, the flow of data coming across from Surrey has been minimal or the frequency has been late. He explained in detail the differing processes that were being used. This had disrupted the way in which information was flowing in. Then there was the work that they're trying to do, not just to rectify pensions work. They don't have the resource to return to the more manual way of doing it or providing it in a different way, bar for those cases where they're deemed critical. The biggest issue was not receiving leaver information and he explained the support that the Administration Team had provided to try to get things on track. 5. The LGPS Senior Officer explained that the urgency of this had been elevated and that regular meetings took place at which the Board and Committee Chairs attended. Ultimately, there was a need to be confident in the way this was being looked at and that serious steps on remediation were being taken by Surrey County Council. If they were not, then a recommendation to the Board that Surrey County Council be reported to the Pension Regulator may be considered appropriate. A Member asked at what point did officers think that ... view the full minutes text for item 27/24 |
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BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN-PROGRESS UPDATE
This report outlines progress on establishing a pension fund specific Business Continuity Plan.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Paul Titcomb, Head of Accounting & Governance Siva Sanmugarajah, Risk & Compliance Manager Neil Mason, LGPS Senior Officer
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Head of Accounting & Governance explained that the officers continued to be reliant on others for business continuity procedures. They were working with the Council’s Risk and Resilience Forum to develop the pension team’s own plan and business impact assessments. The aim was to update the Board further in July. 2. In response to member questions both the Risk & Compliance Manager and the LGPS Senior Officer explained how at the moment the team were reliant on the Council’s overarching continuity plan but work at present was looking at a specific plan for the pension team that was independent of the Council’s plan.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted.
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UPDATE ON CYBER SECURITY
This report considers the ongoing Cyber Security work in the Surrey Pension Team.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Paul Titcomb, Head of Accounting & Governance Siva Sanmugarajah, Risk & Compliance Manager
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Head of Accounting & Governance explained that there had been mandatory training for the pension team which was delivered via a webinar. This had been well received. 2. The Risk & Compliance Manager confirmed that the contract management piece of work which she would be undertaking as part of the business continuity plan would include the cybersecurity arrangements. When that work was completed, the cybersecurity position will be reported to the Board. 3. A member asked whether there was insurance in place to mitigate any potential financial loss and what was currently in place. The LGPS Senior Officer explained that the risk sat with the custodian which was Northern Trust and gave assurance that this was covered.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted.
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SURREY PENSION FUND INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORT - QUARTER 4
The purpose of this progress report is to inform the Board of the work completed by Internal Audit in quarter four of 2023/24 and provide an update on any high priority actions due for implementation. Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Liam Pippard, Principal Auditor
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Principal Auditor highlighted that one final audit opinion had been issued in quarter four, which was reasonable assurance in the area of transfers in. The issues with Unit 4 were being monitored in order to come to an agreement when the follow up audit of banking controls would be done. This would be agreed with the team.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted.
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SURREY PENSION FUND INTERNAL AUDIT STRATEGY AND ANNUAL PLAN 2024/25
The purpose of this report is to inform the Board of the strategy and plan of work to be completed by Internal Audit in 2024/25. Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Liam Pippard, Principal Auditor
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Principal Auditor gave a brief precis of the annual strategy and plan report. He gave an update on what sort of areas were to be covered. The specific scope with audits were to be agreed with the team to make sure that the most appropriate areas were to be covered.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted.
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EXTERNAL AUDIT UPDATE
This report provides an update to the External Audit of the 2022/23 Financial Statements.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Paul Titcomb, Head of Accounting & Governance
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The Head of Accounting & Governance gave a few updates subsequent to the report which included:
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. That the status of the External Audit work was noted.
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LGPS UPDATE (BACKGROUND PAPER)
This report considers recent developments in the LGPS.
Additional documents: Minutes: Speakers: Neil Mason, Assistant Director, LGPS Senior Officer
Key points raised during the discussion: 1. The LGPS Senior Officer explained that there continued to be considerable interest from central government regarding the LGPS and in particular the progress of pooling. He also reminded the Board of the Border to Coast conference on the 18th and 19th of July in Leeds. Border to Coast would be talking to their 2030 strategy at that conference and all Members of the Board were welcome to attend.
Actions/ further information to be provided: None.
Recommendations: 1. The report was noted.
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VOTE OF THANKS
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair and Board thanked Paul Titcomb, Head of Accounting & Governance for all the work that he had put in over the years that he had been with Surrey and the great help he had provided on that side of the pension fund. All wished him the best of luck for the future.
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DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
The next meeting is scheduled for 26 July 2024.
Additional documents: Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting was scheduled for 26 July 2024. |