Councillor Ellis referred to several meetings she had attended with the Leaders during the last quarter in relation to the pooled investment arrangements.  She had also attended the first formal meeting of Boarder to Coast, to which the Authority’s suggestions for small but significant improvements had been accepted.  Boarder to Coast was progressing at a far greater pace than the other pools.  The next Pool meeting would be held at the conclusion of the 13th Annual LGPS Trustees Conference ‘In at the deep end’ on 23-24 June 2016 in Manchester; the Authority had agreed that the Chair or the Vice-Chair (as substitute) would attend future Pool meetings.  Northern Powerhouse had re-named and was now known as The Northern.

Councillor Ellis referred to J Hattersley’s imminent retirement.  The Authority had been unsuccessful in making a permanent appointment; it was hoped to make an interim appointment following the interviews scheduled later today.  Pensions Authority staff had been asked for feedback on the matter.

Councillor Wraith referred to the pooling arrangements, and he queried whether the Authority had negotiated the property with Standard Life.

J Hattersley commented that at present the preferred tax vehicle for the new Pool would be an Authorised Contractual Scheme (ACS), which did not lend itself to holding direct property assets or limited partnerships.  The assets would therefore need to be held outside of the Pool.  All pools were in discussions with CLG to establish whether Treasury would grant some leniency about the transfer costs if direct property assets were transferred into a pool or a collective vehicle ownership.  Tentative approaches had been made with Standard Life, the Authority’s present investment advisor, in relation to management coverage up until the pooling exercise.  The internal Investment Team had considered a proposal from Standard Life, the original suggestion had been for the whole of the property function carried out within the Authority to be transferred to Standard Life.  The Investment Team had agreed that this suggestion was prohibitive and that the back office functions should be retained within the Authority.  It was noted that the appointment of J Hattersley’s successor would affect whether the Authority had an advisory or a discretionary mandate.

Councillor Sangar queried the period of appointment for the interim Fund Director and when a full time appointment would be made, and he questioned the role of the Authority at the point when the pooling process would settle down.

Councillor Ellis commented that talks with the head hunters had been loose in relation to time and pay, to enable the Authority to talk with a degree of flexibility to people across the range.  Councillor Ellis added that the Authority was very grateful to J Hattersley for his flexibility in relation to his imminent retirement.

F Foster commented that an interim appointment would be required to assist with the transition period.  Further time was required to assess the requirements for the permanent post, at which point the recruitment process would commence.

Councillor Ellis commented that it was hoped to provide further information at the next Authority meeting; M McCarthy would provide the new Members with the latest pooling briefing.

Councillor Wraith queried whether there were any indications as to which staff would move to a new pooling headquarters, and whether the location had been determined.

J Hattersley commented that at present everything had been undertaken in terms of a broad principle to enable the production of a broad framework structure.  One of the principle attractions of the Authority joining the Boarder to Coast Pool had been for the Authority to retain an element of internal management which would result in a reduction of costs.  It was envisaged that the internal management team would transfer to the new pool-co, although it was too early to establish where this would be based.  There were two other internal management teams within the Pool, and it would be appropriate for all three teams to amalgamate into new premises.