Meeting documents

SCC Somerset Pensions Board
Friday, 18th February, 2022 10.00 am

Venue: Virtual meeting held using MS Teams

Contact: Neil Milne on 01823 359045 or Email: ndmilne@somerset.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interest

Details of all Members’ interests in District, Town and Parish Councils can be viewed on the Council Website at

County Councillors membership of Town, City, Parish or District Councils and this will be displayed in the meeting room (Where relevant).

 

The Statutory Register of Member’s Interests can be inspected via request to the Democratic Service Team.

 

Minutes:

Rachel Ellins, Rod Bryant, Antony White and Nigel Behan expressed an interest in the Local Government Pension scheme.

 

2.

Minutes of the Meeting Held on 14 November 2021 pdf icon PDF 70 KB

The Committee is asked to confirm the minutes are accurate.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2021 were accepted as being accurate and were signed by the Chair of the Board.

 

One correction was noted in that the expression on interest mentioned was for Mrs R Ellins and not Cllr A Hills.

 

3.

Public Question Time

The Chair will allow members of the public to present a petition on any matter within the Board’s remit. Questions or statements about any matter on the agenda for this meeting will be taken at the time when each matter is considered.

Minutes:

Sigurd Reimers read out a statement regarding fossil fuel investments and climate change, to which Anton read out a response as per below:

 

The Board notes and shares your concerns regarding climate change. However, we feel that the steps included in the proposed new Investment Strategy Statement regarding climate change,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Review of Pensions Committee Papers

An opportunity for Pensions Board members to comment on the papers provided to the Pensions Committee at their meeting of 7 January 2022.

Minutes:

The Funds and Investments Manager gave a brief outline of the Pensions Committee papers explaining the investment process and Brunel.   Cllr Hills asked if the Committee could make decisions virtually.  Mr Sweet explained that the officers will make the decisions after voting has been taken, under the new rule agreed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Review of Pension Fund Risk Register pdf icon PDF 41 KB

To consider this report from the Funds & Investments Manager.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered the report of the Funds and Investments Manager reviewing the Pension Fund’s risk register.  The register has not changed since the last meeting.  The revision of the Funding Strategy Statement will take place possibly in late 2023, after consulting with employers.  There was a mention for reassurance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Business Plan Update pdf icon PDF 38 KB

To consider this report from the Funds & Investments Manager.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered the report of the Funds and Investments Manager, and a suggestion was made that a training session should be held just before the next meeting to have a look at the risk of investment vs climate change and how Brunel is looking at reducing the carbon intensity  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Review of Pension Board Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 48 KB

To consider this report from the Funds & Investments Manager.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board considered the report of the Funds and Investments Manager that set out the Terms of Reference which were opted into in 2015; however, with LGR all Terms of Reference will be looked at.  Point 3.4 was raised by Mrs Ellins who asked if this was robust enough; Mr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Fees & Charges pdf icon PDF 70 KB

To consider this report from the Funds & Investments Manager.

Minutes:

The Chair raised this item and Mr Harris explained that they are holding a number of staff vacancies and are continuing to monitor costs to ensure there is value for money, including staff working from home.  Cllr Hills explained that reassurance is required that we are getting value for money  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

Any Other Business of Urgency

The Chairman may raise any items of urgent business.

Minutes:

The Chair, after ascertaining there were no other items of business, thanked all those present for attending and closed the meeting. The date of the next meeting is 8 April 2002 at 10 am, to be held virtually via Teams.