Issue - meetings

Councillor Christopher Kettle moved the recommendation as set out in the report.  Councillor Bill Gifford seconded the recommendation

Debate

Councillor Sarah Millar expressed her disappointment that there were no women on the Board and that this appointment would not redress the position.  She had raised the issue of gender diversity at the Council meeting in March 2022 when two new Members of the Board were appointed and sought assurance that greater efforts in future would be taken to encourage women to the Board.

Some Members echoed the views of Councillor Millar, making the following points:

• The Board should be representative of its Members and the majority of LGPS Members were women
• More female role-models were required in male-dominated industries in order to increase diversity
• More should be done to understand why women with the relevant interests, skills and qualifications did not volunteer for the role
• The selection process for the role should be reviewed to attract more women to the role

Some Members expressed the following alternative views:

• The best possible person should be appointed to the role particularly as it required particular expertise and skills
• The role required a considerable time commitment in terms of training and development, particularly for someone from a non-pensions background
• The outcome of the selection process did not mean that it was not a robust process
• The pool from which the appointment was made was relatively small and no other candidate had come forward
• The outcome of the selection process was not reflected in the authority as a whole which had a female Leader, four females appointed to the Cabinet and a female Chief Executive. 

Councillor Kettle noted that there were no other names put forward for consideration and that an amendment to the Motion had not been tabled.  He did not consider that a male appointment would differentiate their responsibilities in terms of male and female members of the scheme and, in fact, the nominee was highly qualified to deliver in the role.

Vote

Upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried with a majority in support.

Resolved

That Council approves the appointment of Councillor Ian Shenton as a scheme employer representative on the Warwickshire Local Pension Board for a three year term in accordance with the Terms of Reference of the Local Pension Board.