Issue - meetings

The item was introduced by Alistair Wickens (Technical Specialist Pensions Fund Policy and Governance), who told members the report summarised the results of the first part of the full governance review with AON. These were set out in the table in the report and were given a RAG rating. Some areas of non compliance, resulting in a red rating, had been expected as this was the first time the Fund had been inspected against the new code. Any area of non compliance, however minimal, would result in a red rating for the module as a whole. Alistair Wickens said feedback from AON stated the Fund was in a very good position compared to other funds, and was able to provide a very substantial evidence of published policy documents. Members’ attention was drawn to some specific areas of non compliance, such as no formalised procedure for recruiting Pension Board members or policy relating to missing historic data. The full and final report would be presented to the Board at the next meeting in April.

The Chair said although there were some red areas, the table in the report pack did not reflect the overall picture. Referencing Board member recruitment he said two new members had joined recently, who had both helped diversify the overall membership. Regarding some of the summaries relating to administration, Lisa Eglesfield (Pensions Administration Service Manager) said there was one section that had been graded as red, but a scenario relating specifically to an active member over the age of 50 transferring funds out had never arisen. Nevertheless the process notes had been updated following the review by AON. Cases relating to McCloud were also an example where missing data had been identified, which had been flagged as a red rating. A policy relating to this was in the process of being formulated.

Responding to a point raised by the Chair, Chris Norton said the AON report had been commissioned by the Warwickshire Pension Fund by choice, as it was possible that in future there may be biennial independent assessments of the governance of LGPS funds. The review was taken with the single regulatory code in mind. He added he would take on board any feedback from members regarding the amount of material that had been provided, and if it was too much information.

Rob Powell said he was reassured by the contents of the AON report, and that the red and amber ratings were not of any great significance. For many of the elements, the Fund had been given good green ratings. He asked if AON could present the information differently next time to give a more accurate representation of the areas where the Fund was performing well. Councillor Ian Shenton said the report did not show the Fund’s overall position, or how it compared relatively to others.