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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City & County of Swansea, the following interests were disclosed: Councillors P N Bentu, P Downing, M B Lewis, P Rogers and S Pritchard declared personal interests in the agenda as a whole. Councillor W G Thomas declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Minute No.19 – Pension Fund Committee – Co-opted Member. Officers: K Cobb, J Dong, S Williams, and J Parkhouse declared personal interests in the agenda as a whole.
Resolved that the Minutes of the Pension Fund Committee meeting held on 19 June 2025 be signed and approved as a correct record.
Jeff Dong, Deputy S151 Officer presented a report which sought the approval of the appointment of Councillor W G Thomas as a Non-Voting Co-opted Member of the Pension Fund Committee. It was explained that following changes to the membership of Political Groups, a review of Committee Proportionality was carried out by Council at its meeting on 4 September 2025. Council approved that Councillor W G Thomas be removed from the Pension Fund Committee as the Conservative Political Group were no longer entitled to a Councillor on the Pension Fund Committee. It was added that Councillor W G Thomas had served as a member on the Pension Fund Committee since 2016. During that time, he had acquired and maintained the required statutory knowledge, skills and experience to discharge his role to a high level and was a valued member of the Committee. In the interests of retaining that knowledge, skill and experience on the Committee, it was proposed that Councillor W G Thomas be appointed as a Non-Voting Co-opted Member of the Pension Fund Committee. Resolved that Councillor W G Thomas be appointed as a Non-Voting Co-opted Member of the Pension Fund Committee for the remainder of the Municipal year.
Part of an issue followed across 3 meetings
Laura Caudwell and Arkady Gibas of AON provided an education & training session on The Triennial Valuation and responded to questions asked by the Committee. The Chair and the Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy Section 151 Officer thanked the AON representatives for the update and training provided.
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. It was reported that no breaches had occurred during the period.
The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy Section 151 Officer provided for approval the draft annual report & statement of accounts for the City & County of Swansea Pension Fund 2024/25. The draft Annual Report & Statement of Accounts 2024/25 was provided at Appendix 1. They had previously been submitted to Audit Wales for the statutory external audit on 15 July 2025. The Final Pension Fund Annual Report & Statement of Accounts 2024/25 post audit and the accompanying Audit Wales report would be presented at the Committee meeting scheduled for November 2025. Resolved that the Draft City & County of Swansea Pension Fund Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2024/25 (subject to audit), provided at Appendix 1, be approved.
The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer provided a ‘for information’ report which, in accordance with the Audit Wales Recommendation from the 2022/23 statutory audit, informed the Pension Fund Committee of the reported exceptional items contained within the internal control assurance reports of appointed third party fund managers / custodians.
The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer provided a report which sought to approve the revised Pension Fund Administration Strategy Report. It was outlined that the Pension Fund Committee approved the previous Pension Administration Strategy in November 2021. In line with best practice, evolving service standards and emerging challenges, it had been determined to review and update the Strategy. It was added that the revised Pension Administration Strategy outlined the administrative requirements and performance standards that the Fund and its participating employers were required to meet to deliver a cost-effective and high-quality pension administration service. This aligned with the Fund’s Business Plan and ensured compliance with statutory obligations. Resolved that the Revised Fund Pension Administration Strategy Report, provided at Appendix 1, be approved.
The Deputy Chief Finance Officer / Deputy S151 Officer provided a report which sought approval of the fund’s intent to exercise its permitted discretion to extend the deadline for the completion of the rectification and implementation of the McCloud remedy to 31 August 2026. Resolved that the fund exercising its permitted discretion to extend the deadline for the completion of the McCloud rectification and implementation to 31 August 2026, be approved.
The Committee was 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 Committee 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.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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