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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
Resolved: Pension Board Minutes be noted.
Resolved: • The Administration and Governance Report be noted, • and amendments to the Investment Pillar of the Risk Register approved: INVEST0001 long-term returns - approved. INVEST0009 investment strategy - archived. INVEST0010 returns on Government bonds - archived. INVEST0012 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors - approved.
Resolved: The National Development Report be noted.
Resolved: The Pensions Regulator General Code of Practice Report be noted.
Resolved: The Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) be noted.
Apologies received from: Cllr D A Thomas.
A E Jones, A Kennerley, C Kenyon-Wade, D H Williams, and P E Lewis declared interests as members of the Local Government Pensions Scheme. These are personal interests, not prejudicial interests in accordance with Paragraph 12(b) (iv) of the Members Code of Conduct 2016.
The Chair was authorised to sign the minutes of the Pensions and Investment Committee meeting held on 22 October 2024 as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: Pension Board Minutes be noted.
The Pension Board Chair provided a verbal update and highlighted the discussions held by the Board within the minutes of the meeting on 18.11.2024. • The Government’s open consultation on the LGPS being fit for the future and an amendment to the risk register to reflect the recent and future regulatory changes. • A deep dive into the investment Pillar risk register took place with adjustments being proposed later in the agenda. A discussion took place around climate and nature and the Pension Fund Manager would consider the incorporation in to the risk register as the County Council was also considering the same issues. Resolved: Pension Board Minutes be noted.
The Chair of the Pensions and Investment Committee attended: Date Event Notes 26 November Met with the Scheme Advisory Board Chair. 03 December The Joint Governance Committee (JGC) meeting. The focus was on the recent Mansion House announcements and the proposed changes. A discussion was held around the different positions of local authority pools and how a robust response to the consultation from Powys would be required.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: • The Administration and Governance Report be noted, • and amendments to the Investment Pillar of the Risk Register approved: INVEST0001 long-term returns - approved. INVEST0009 investment strategy - archived. INVEST0010 returns on Government bonds - archived. INVEST0012 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors - approved.
The Committee received the report. The Pension Fund Manager highlighted the following: 2. Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) Updates 2.2 Pensions Review (the way the pensions industry was structured) - call for evidence response had been provided. 2.3 – Scheme Advisory Board meeting attended by Chair on the 26.11.2024 to discuss recent announcements. 3.LGPS Updates 3.1 – Changes announced would impact the Pension Team and processes would need to be modified to ensure that inheritance tax variations were incorporated. It was noted that proposed changes to the Public Sector Net Financial Liabilities (PSNFL) in which the Government would reshape the calculation that allowed borrowing which would include the LGPS funding levels. Clarification was provided that there would not be any liability upon the fund, just a change to the methodology used by the Government. 3.3 – The Pensions Regulator Annual Scheme Return had been submitted within the deadline. 3.4 – The McCloud remedy was embedded within the Pension Team and conducted for every required calculation. It was noted that historic calculations would be revisited. 3.5 – The official government confirmation of the Consumer Price Index rate was awaited but expected to be 1.7%, based on the figure at the end of September 2024. 4. The Pensions Dashboard Programme 4.1/4.2/4.3 – the dashboard was a central online portal for pension savers to access all pension benefit information. The Department of Work and Pensions had issued a statement committing to the previous governments launch of October 2026. The Pension Fund Manager provided assurance that he had met with software providers to conduct data quality checks, review the dashboard tools and work was ongoing. 5. Risk Register 5.1 - Adjustments proposed were reviewed: INVEST0008 – commentary addressed changes in legislation and agreed risks would be adjusted accordingly. INVEST0009 –well established processes around evidence provision was in place and the risk was proposed to be archived. INVEST0010 – a subset of INVEST0001and duplication proposed to be archived. It was noted that the archived risks remain on the system but would not appear on reports. INVEST0012 - commentary addressed changes to reflect not only climate change but other relevant world conflicts. The Pension Fund Manager would also update the risk to include geopolitical tensions. It was moved and duly seconded to note the report and approve the report. Resolved: • The Administration and Governance Report be noted, • and amendments to the Investment Pillar of the Risk Register approved: INVEST0001 long-term returns - approved. INVEST0009 investment strategy - archived. INVEST0010 returns on Government bonds - archived. INVEST0012 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors - approved.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: The National Development Report be noted.
The Committee received the Updates Reports. The Pension Fund Manager provided background information that after the Mansion House speech on 14 November a consultation was launched closing on 16 January 2025 on the reform of Local Government Pension Scheme investments. With key recommendations: Pools must be: • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated entity, in which the Wales Pension Partnerships (WPP) was not, since it uses an operator model that hired in expertise and did not meet the criteria. Other Pools had created pooling companies which appeared to be the governments preferred option. • Funds were to be pooled by March 2026 which presented difficulties for long term investments and a response would be provided to the consultation. • Wales arrangements were identified as different, meetings had been conducted to discuss the above issues. • The Good Governance Project was designed to create a framework for all funds to adhere to and was included in the consultation for comment Messaging towards stakeholders, employers and members would be considered by the Pension Fund Manager to communicate challenges. It was noted that the frequency of meetings had been increased to discuss options and to prepare for the future: I. Look to merge with an FCA regulated pool and work under a different framework. II. The preferred option was to recognise that Wales was different and look to meet the expected standards to continue. The Chair felt it was an opportunity for Wales (and Powys) to keep its identity and keep the investments local to Wales as each Chair had an equal voice. The Pension Fund Manager added that the Committee would be kept up to date and any potential amendments to the pooling structure may need be processed through Full Council. It was explained that benefits had been gained by the Powys Fund from being part of the Wales pension Partnership, sharing costs and types of investments that would not usually be available to smaller funds as Powys, however concerns were raised by members of the meeting that Powys may lose their identity, and local investments. It was stressed to members the importance to attend informal meetings as the pace of change would be rapid when final decisions were made. It was moved and duly seconded to note the Report. Resolved: The National Development Report be noted.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: The Pensions Regulator General Code of Practice Report be noted.
The Committee received the report. The Pension Fund Manager highlighted that the General Code of Practice had been in place for six months, a gap analysis had been conducted and explained that a key focus was around evidencing procedures. The Committee were assured that work was ongoing to achieve full compliance. It was moved and duly seconded to note the report and approve the Report. Resolved: The Pensions Regulator General Code of Practice Report be noted.
Decision as recorded
Resolved: The Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) be noted.
The Committee received the report regarding the WPP quarterly update. The Pension Fund Manager noted further details would be provided in later agenda items. It was moved and duly seconded to note the report and approve the Report. Resolved: The Wales Pension Partnership (WPP) be noted.
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