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Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests. Minutes: In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and
County of Swansea, the following interests were declared: - R Broad – Agenda as a whole – My sister is a Member of Local
Government Pension Scheme – personal. I Guy – Agenda as a whole – Member of Local Government Pension
Scheme – personal. Councillor A Lockyer – Agenda as a whole – Member of Local
Government Pension Scheme – personal. My
wife and son are also Members of the Local Government Pension Scheme – personal. D White – Agenda as a whole - Member of Local Government
Pension Scheme and member of Unison - personal. Officers: K Cobb - Agenda as a whole – Member of Local Government
Pension Scheme – personal. J Dong – Agenda as a whole – Member of Local Government
Pension Scheme – personal. S Williams – Agenda as a whole – Member of Local Government
Pension Scheme – personal. J Parkhouse – Agenda as a whole – Member of Local Government
Pension Scheme – personal. |
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To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record. Minutes: Resolved that the Minutes of the Local Pension Board meeting held on 26 November 2020 be approved and signed as a correct record. |
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City & County of Swansea Pension Fund Audit Plan 2021. PDF 781 KB Minutes: Jeff Dong, Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151
Officer presented the Audit Wales (AW) City and County of Swansea Pension Fund
Audit Plan 2021. It was outlined that the purpose of the plan was to set out
the proposed work of AW, when it would be undertaken, how much it would cost
and who would undertake it. The report detailed the following: - ·
The ongoing impact of Covid 19, the uncertainty
going forward and how AW planned to undertake their work. ·
The Audit of the Pension Fund accounts. ·
The financial audit risks, including significant
risks; impact of COVID 19; McCloud judgement; private equity investments; and
Wales Pension Partnership. ·
Statutory Audit functions. ·
Fee, audit team and timetable. The Chair expressed his thanks that the audit fee had
remained the same for two years. Resolved that the
contents of the report be noted. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer
presented a ‘for information’ report which detailed how the Pension Fund
ensured compliance with Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations. It was outlined that in line with the Local Government
Pension Scheme Regulations, the City & County of Swansea Pension Fund
produced and approved a funding strategy statement, in consultation with its
scheme employers, appointed actuary and advisors originally in March 2020. Since that date, additional regulations had been laid which afford additional flexibilities in dealing with employer exits. A revised draft Funding Strategy Statement was presented which incorporated the additional flexibilities. |
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Breaches. (For Information) PDF 240 KB Minutes: The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer
presented a ‘for information’ report which presented any breaches which had
occurred in the period in accordance with the Reporting Breaches Policy. Appendix A provided the details of breaches that had
occurred since the previous Local Pension Board in December 2020. The details of the breaches and the actions
taken by Management were highlighted. |
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City & County of Swansea Pension Fund Business Plan 2021/22. (For Information) PDF 392 KB Minutes: The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer
presented a ‘for information’ report which provided a working framework for the
Pension Fund’s programme of work for 2021/22 also including the pension fund
budget and risk register. It was outlined that in line with best practice, the Pension
Fund produced a business plan to inform its work programme for the forthcoming
12 month period. The business plan for 2021/22 was provided at Appendix 1. The Board discussed the information contained within the
plan as follows: - ·
The amendment to recognise scheme member
representative on JGC; ·
Mitigating the
effect of Brexit on the Business Plan due to the global investment
strategy; ·
Training targets for Board Members. |
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Minutes: The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer
presented a report which sought to determine an annual training programme for
the Pension Fund Committee, Local Pension Board members and officers of the
Pension Fund. The background and progress made in respect of training needs and knowledge gained, including the CIPFA Code of Practice and the Pension Regulator’s knowledge and understanding requirements and the Pension Fund Policy Statement were outlined. Details of the LGPS National Knowledge Assessment (NKA) launched by Hymans in 2020, the Trustee training undertaken in 2020/21 and the proposed training programme in 2021/22 were provided. The Chair highlighted the worthwhile virtual training that had been provided, the very useful WPP training and additional ad hoc training being provided by some large financial companies. Resolved that: - 1) the assessment and outline training plan at paragraphs 3.7, 3.8 and 3.9 be approved; 2) further opportunities which are identified during the year be delegated to the Deputy S 151 Officer for approval; 3) the Chair of the Pension Fund Committee be consulted regarding future joint training between Committee and Board members. |
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Exit Cap Regulations Update. (For Information) PDF 221 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer
presented a ‘for information’ report which updated the Local Pension Board on
the £95k Exit Cap Regulations which were disapplied on 12 February 2021. It was outlined that HM Treasury had published The Exit
Payment Directions 2021 which disapplied regulations 3.9 and 12 of the
Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payment Regulations 2020. This meant that the
exit cap did not apply to exits taking place on or after 12 February 2021. The
LGA had published guidance notes for Administering Authorities which were
provided at Appendix 1. It was noted
that although the Exit Cap in its original form had been disapplied, the
Government was committed to introducing an alternative capping mechanism to
public sector exit payments ‘at pace’. It was added that there were no exits breaching the cap
between 4 November and 12 February for the City & County of Swansea Pension
Fund. In addition, it was reported that The Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had halted a consultation seeking
views on proposals for further reform on exit payment terms in the LGPS. |
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Exclusion of the Public. PDF 236 KB Minutes: The Board were requested to exclude the public from the
meeting during consideration of the item(s) of business identified in the
recommendation(s) to the report on the grounds that it / they involved the
likely disclosure of exempt information as set out in the exclusion paragraph
of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local
Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007 relevant to
the item(s) of business set out in the report. The Board considered the Public Interest Test in deciding
whether to exclude the public from the meeting for the items of business where
the Public Interest Test was relevant as set out in the report. Resolved that the
public be excluded for the following items of business. (Closed Session) |
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Wales Pension Partnership Update. (For Information) Minutes: The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer
presented a ‘for information’ report which updated the Committee on the
progress of the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP). The Board welcomed the approval of a member representative
on the Joint Governance Committee (JGC) of the Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) Appendix 1 provided
the progress and update report provided by the ACS Operator Link Asset
Services. Appendix 2 provided the WPP Private Markets timeline. |
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Report of the Investment Consultant. (For Information) Minutes: The report of the Investment Consultants was provided ‘for
information’, which presented the Quarter 4 2020/21 Investment Monitoring
Report. The content of the report was noted by the Committee and
various questions were asked, which were responded to accordingly. The Investment Consultants were thanked for
the report. |
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Investment Summary. (For Information) Minutes: The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer
provided a “for information” report, which presented the investment performance
for the quarter, year and 3 years ended 31 December 2020 plus a funding update
as at 31/12/20 which showed the funding level at 99.6% The quarterly investment summaries for the Pension Fund for
the quarter, year and 3 years ended 31 December 2020 were attached at Appendix
1. |