Apologies were noted as above.

The Chair announced that Deloittes had been appointed as the Authority’s external auditor with effect from 2018/19 to replace KPMG.

To determine whether there are any additional items of business which by reason of special circumstances the Chair is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting;  the reason(s) for such urgency to be stated.

None.

RESOLVED – That item 18 ‘SYPA Staffing Structure Post Pooling and Related Matters’ and item 19 ‘Release of Preserved Benefits’ be considered in the absence of the public and press.

None.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Authority’s Annual meeting held on 15 June 2017 be agreed and signed by the Chair as a true record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the Authority’s Ordinary meeting held on 15 June 2017 be agreed and signed by the Chair as a true record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Planning and Governance Board held on 20 July 2017 be noted.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting of the Investment Board held on 22 June 2017 be noted.

The Authority considered its Work Programme.

RESOLVED – That the Work Programme be noted.

The Chair informed Members that the district Treasurers were being kept up to date with all BCPP developments.

The Authority considered the Q1 Performance Snapshot report which was a summary of various information and statistics previously considered by the Authority’s Boards.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Authority considered the Corporate Planning and Governance Board’s Audit Committee Function Annual Report 2016/17.

The report covered the Board’s work during the financial year 2016/17 in relation to its audit committee function; it outlined the Board’s:

·       Role and responsibilities;

·       Membership and attendance; and

·       Achievements.

It was suggested that attendance should be monitored and any concerns be raised with the authority concerned.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

A report was submitted to advise Members of the 2017 Annual Fund Meeting.

The event was to be held at the Source Skills Academy, Meadowhall on Thursday 19^th October at 5.30pm.  All members were welcome to attend.

The format of previous meetings would be followed; questions would be invited from the floor after each presentation.

The meeting would again be available to view in near real-time allowing members with internet access to watch the event, this was publicised in newsletters and on the website.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

A report was submitted to update on the progress of pooling in the Border to Coast Pensions Partnership (BCPP).

Members were informed that the steps necessary to respond to the implementation of MiFID II were ongoing.

Rachel Elwell had recently been appointed as Chief Executive Officer; the position of Chief Operations Officer had been determined but not yet signed off by all shareholders.

At the request of Members it was agreed to send out a brief biography of each senior appointment.

The Chair informed the Authority that two premises for BCPP staff in Leeds had been shortlisted; negotiations were continuing and it was expected that a decision would be made at the meeting of the Joint Committee on 20 October 2017.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

Members considered a LGPS current issues paper prepared by Mercer noting in particular the items regarding early retirement strain costs and the tax implications for high earners where an individual’s Pension Input Amount exceeded the annual allowance for that tax year.  G Chapman informed the Authority that a tax seminar in November had been arranged to give advice to anyone affected.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

G Boyington and J Thompson, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Joint Local Pension Board, presented the Board’s annual report.

The Authority were reminded that the Board’s remit was to ‘assist South Yorkshire Pensions Authority and South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Pension Fund (until November 2017) to maintain effective and efficient administration and governance’.

The Board had met three times during the year and attendance was generally good although there was concern that the Local Authorities consistently failed to fill their vacancies and their attendance had been poor.

Following the transfer of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Pension Fund to Greater Manchester Pension Fund in November the Board would be recruiting for a new employer and employee representative.  G Boyington thanked S Carnell for his involvement with the Board as the employee representative of SYPTPF and asked that a letter of thanks be sent to him from the Authority.

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board had attended national Pension Board events throughout the year and all members had attended various training events.

The Authority’s Chair suggested that it would be useful to invite all members of the Board to the next two-day BCPP training event which had been very successful.  She thanked the Board for all their hard work and their attendance at Authority meetings.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

A report was submitted to seek Members’ agreement to the proposed staffing structure post pooling and to consider related matters including the recruitment of a permanent Fund Director, succession planning for the Head of Pensions Administration, the net reduction in posts as a result of transfer of functions to BCPP and consequential new posts required to meet the Authority’s ongoing strategic investment management responsibilities.

RESOLVED – That the Authority:

a)   Agreed to the recruitment of a permanent Fund Director as set out in the report, allowing time for the new appointee to consider the resilience of the new structure and engage in the recruitment of the Investment Performance Manager.

b)   Noted the succession plan for the post of Head of Pensions Administration.

c)    Noted the proposed changes in the Finance Team as set out in the report.

d)   Noted the deletion of the 7 f.t.e. investment management posts consequent upon the transfer of functions to BCPP and the creation of 2 new f.t.e. posts as set out in the report.

e)   Noted that the new roles would require a level of qualification or a commitment to train and qualify to that level within a reasonable timeframe and noted that appropriate HR advice had been followed, the proposed structure had been shared with staff and the process had been agreed with the Trade Union representative.

f)    Noted the existing and proposed staffing structure for the SYPS finance and investment teams.

g)   Noted the budgetary impact of the changes as set out in the report.

h)   Noted the requirement for further review as set out in the report.

A report was submitted to seek a decision from Members in relation to a request from a former South Yorkshire Magistrates Courts Committee employee for the release of preserved benefits on compassionate grounds.

RESOLVED – That the Authority agree to the release of preserved benefits on compassionate grounds as detailed in the report.