Councillors and committees

Agenda and minutes

Venue: REMOTE

Contact: Angela Guest 

Items
No. Item

12/20

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND SUBSTITUTIONS

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    Minutes:

    There were no apologies.

13/20

MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING: pdf icon PDF 288 KB

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    To agree the minutes of the informal meeting held on 6 August 2020.

    Minutes:

    The notes of the informal meeting held on 6 August were agreed as an accurate record of the meeting.

     

    It was noted that minute 9c, regarding the 10% adjustment having its own entry on the risk register had not been actioned.

     

    There was some discussion about the training for new members of the Board being completed before they could join discussions at the meeting.  The Chairman noted the concern and stated that there was a need to be practical in such situations and that the same rule would apply for substitute representatives.  The Scheme Manager pointed out the Terms of Reference were not that specific.

14/20

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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    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.

     

     

    Minutes:

    There were none.

15/20

QUESTIONS AND PETITIONS

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    Due to the Covid-19 pandemic all questions and petitions received will be responded to in writing and will be contained within the minutes of the meeting.

     

    To receive any questions or petitions.

     

    Notes:

     

    1. The deadline for Member’s questions is 12.00pm four working days before the meeting (12/11/2020).

    2. The deadline for public questions is seven days before the meeting (11/11/2020)

    3. The deadline for petitions was 14 days before the meeting, and no petitions have been received.

    Minutes:

    There were none.

16/20

ACTION TRACKER pdf icon PDF 328 KB

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    The Board is asked to review and note its action tracker.

     

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Sally Wilson, Scheme Manager

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1. A Member requested that a copy of all advice and reports from Weightman’s to the Service or Surrey County Council on pensionable pay with regard to tracker item A16/20, be shared with the Board.
    2. The Board requested that each item on the tracker be updated for future meetings and for old items in particular.

     

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

    1. The Board concurred with the Member’s request for copies of Weightman’s reports which the Scheme Manager agreed to consider.
    2. That the Action Tracker have an update for each item for each meeting.

     

    Resolved:

     

    The Board noted the action tracker.

     

17/20

ADMINISTRATION UPDATE: 1 JULY 2020 - 30 SEPTEMBER 2020 pdf icon PDF 375 KB

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    The Board is asked to note the content of this report and make recommendations if any further action is required.

     

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Tom Lewis, Pensions Support & Development Manager

    Lindsey Shaw, Workforce Information Officer

    Sally Wilson, Scheme Manager

     

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1. The Pensions Support & Development Manager introduced the updated report and highlighted paragraph 7 relating to the successful delivery of the Annual Allowance Statement to members.  The Board noted that the tracker stated that tracing would be done in May 2020 and asked if this was delayed due to Covid.  It was thought that the comment may have referred to some other project as officers would not have known about these cases in May.  The tracing was due to take place in January 2021.
    2. The Pensions Support & Development Manager also spoke of the progress that had been made with regard to the 180 outstanding tasks in the administration system.  The Chairman referred to the total number of cases in the KPI annex and asked if the 106 total outstanding cases would go down considerably for the next meeting as most of them were issues with transferring in or out.  This was confirmed.  The Chairman also stated that if someone asks for information about a transfer and it is supplied then the case should be closed down until the member made a decision to transfer.   The Workforce Information Officer stated that a few people had made requests but were a long way off retirement.  There were a few transfers to London Fire Brigade but these cases had been dealt with.  The Chairman requested that she inform the Pensions Support & Development Manager of any members whose requests were delayed so they can be expedited.
    3. The Pensions Support & Development Manager confirmed that the statutory TPR scheme return was scheduled to be completed by the deadline.  He then went on to talk about bulletin 38 which had been received but was not on the agenda.  The Chairman asked that any bulletins received before a meeting be included in the papers rather than waiting until the next meeting.
    4. There was some discussion regarding the pensions helpdesk and the work being undertaken to support the helpdesk and deal with the staff shortage.  It was reported that recruitment was being undertaken now and some leavers had been retained as bank staff to help with training new staff.  The Chairman requested an update on the backlog and on recruitment on a monthly basis from the end of November.
    5. The Scheme Manager explained that she was looking at pension administration options for the future and was working with the procurement team to go out to market at the end of November.  They would then be looking for a supplier in December with the aim to have them confirmed and in place by April 2021.  She also explained that all policies were being reviewed to ensure they were compliant and current, and that governance arrangements were being reconfirmed to ensure that decisions were being made at an appropriate level.  A written report would be forthcoming from the Scheme Manager to future meetings.  She also confirmed that there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17/20

18/20

RISK REGISTER pdf icon PDF 34 KB

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    The Board is asked to note the content of this report and to make recommendations of any amendments to the Surrey FFPS Risk Register.

     

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Sally Wilson, Scheme Manager

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1.    It was confirmed that the Scheme Manager would be taking ownership and responsibility for the risk register and would ensure that it was updated for the next meeting.  She had updated it for the meeting to remove duplications.  Risk owners should also be updating their individual risks as appropriate.

    2.    Regarding risk F16 (Workforce strategy leads to changes in working arrangements without consideration of pensions implications), a Member highlighted there had been another incidence of a workforce change being made without consideration of pensions implications and the risk should be ranked red and the control measures broadened.  The Scheme Manager stated that she would review the risk and mitigating actions and will continue to ensure pensions were considered going forward.  The Scheme Manager also confirmed that she forms part of the Service Workforce Working Group for this purpose.

     

    Actions/ further information to be provided:

    1. That the issues of 10%, resources and the O’Brien case show as separate risks and be rated accordingly.
    2. Regarding risk F16, the risk and control measures should be reviewed.

     

    Resolved:

     

    The Board noted the risk register.

19/20

PENSIONABLE PAY UPDATE AND DISCUSSION pdf icon PDF 288 KB

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    The Board has requested an update on pensionable pay relating to Day Related Flexible Hours Allowance and Variable Crewing Hours Allowance. The Board are asked to note the update.

    Minutes:

    Witnesses:

    Sally Wilson, Scheme Manager

     

    Key points raised during the discussion:

    1. The Scheme Manager introduced an update report on pensionable pay and highlighted that following taking of legal advice all those affected had received communication.  Governance processes and financial implications had been reviewed.  Further communications would be sent to members aligned to their individual circumstances and an email box had been set up to deal with concerns raised.
    2. A Member stated that the last sentence of paragraph 2.2 was incorrect in that the Fire Brigade Union did consider this to be pensionable pay.  The Scheme Manager, although not involved in historical discussions, explained that legal advice was taken at the time and this was the national picture.
    3. A Member stated that the letter sent out regarding overpayment made no mention of entitlement to additional pension benefit and had caused confusion.  He requested that a second letter be sent.  The Scheme Manager explained that the letter was intended to highlight both and that it had been worked with legal colleagues.  She assured the Board that future communications would be clear and undertook to update the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page.
    4. A Member asked what criteria had been applied in determining which members should or shouldn’t have their entitlement increased because of this or have all those that have either worked on the variable duty crewing system or on the day contracts since their inception in 2004 and 2008 been written to.  The Scheme Manager confirmed that they had all been written to.
    5. A Member asked what criteria had been applied to determine who would or wouldn’t have to pay the difference in their pension contributions and how any underpayments on contributions were to be made.  The Scheme Manager explained that this was being looked at and was part of the next steps to be taken and was happy to update outside of the Board meeting as well as to the next Board meeting.  The Chairman requested that both happen.
    6. A Member questioned why overpayments could be requested before underpayments had been paid to members.  He also stated that the statute of limitations gives a limit of six years for underpayments and the legislation regarding overpayment is separate and has no limit.  Therefore, payments need to be made quickly to members.  The Scheme Manager explained that this was a complex process and these questions were being discussed at the project board but action was being taken as quickly as possible and not waiting until all the answers were known.
    7. A Member stated that, in relation to the risk register, in April 2020 some members pay had been reduced and the variable crewing contract had ceased.  Members that were working that contract until April could now be asked to pay overpayments but receive no pension benefits for that service on a final salary scheme.  He also stated that members were asking why they were being chased for payments when their contracts stated it was not pensionable and this influenced their signing to the contract  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19/20

20/20

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

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    The next meeting will be held on 15 January 2021.

    Minutes:

    The next meeting will be held on 15 January 2021.