Agenda item

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Corporate Services

The Committee received a report from the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Services regarding proposed amendments to the Pensions Board Constitution.

The Committee was reminded that in April 2015 Staffordshire County Council set up a Local Pensions Board (“the Board”), and when the Board was originally set up the membership consisted of a maximum of six members made up of three Scheme Employer Representatives and three Scheme Member Representatives. It was noted that the Board Constitution stated that one of the Scheme Employer representatives must be an Elected Local Authority Member and one Scheme Employee representative must be a Trade Union representative. The Committee was made aware of the efforts made throughout 2022 and 2023, to find suitable nominees to appoint to these specific positions on the Board, without success.

Following discussions at the September 2023 Board meeting, it was proposed that the Scheme Manager consider reducing the number of members on the Board from six to four, and in doing so remove the specific stipulation from the Board Constitution that the Board membership must include an Elected Local Authority Member and a Trade Union representative. It was made clear that this amendment did not mean that Elected Local Authority Members or Trade Union representatives could not become members of the Board, it simply removed the stipulation that there must be two such representatives. It was highlighted that the proposal remained consistent with Local Government Pensions Scheme Regulations 2013.

The Committee heard that Trade Unions had been informed of the proposals and were asked to provide feedback. One response was received, from Unison, which stated an appreciation of the issue. Given that they had no suitable candidate to put forward they confirmed that there was no objection to the proposal.

Whilst this process was carried out the opportunity was also taken to make some amendments to the “Member Appointment Process” included within the Board Constitution, to ensure it remained consistent with current appointment practices. It was noted that the constituted appointment process focussed on the selection process undertaken when the Board was originally established. Whilst it also included additional steps that concentrated on the recruitment of replacement Board members, the process no longer needed to consider the appointment of an original Board, and the proposed amendments meant that the process focussed on the appointment of replacement Board members only. It was also highlighted that the proposed appointment process was tried and tested as it followed the same appointment process that was used to recruit co-opted members to the Pensions Committee.

The Pensions Committee was also informed that the S151 Officer for Tamworth Borough Council had recently been recruited to join the Board as an Employer Representative, meaning that, with the approval of this report, the Pensions Board was now at full capacity membership.

Resolved: a. That the proposed amendments to the make-up of the Local Pensions Board Membership and the reduction in the number of members that sit on the Board from six to four – two representing Scheme Employers and two representing Scheme Employees, be approved.

b. That the amendments to the Local Pensions Board Constitution reflecting the proposed changes to the make-up of the Local Pensions Board Membership, be approved.

c. That the changes to the Local Pensions Board Member Appointment Process, be approved.