Members were presented with a report to review the Board’s Constitution and Terms of Reference, which was reviewed annually.  Several changes had been made since the Board’s inaugural meeting in July 2015, which included strengthening the Terms of Reference, with the inclusion of a compliance section with the Regulations and relevant legislation, and updates to reflect the transfer of the Passenger Transport Pension Fund to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

The report sought Members’ consideration to determine whether to increase the membership back to 12 Members, or to reduce it to 10 Members and to recruit one Scheme Member to fill the vacancy.

Members agreed to reduce the Board’s membership to 10 Members, and to recruit one Scheme Member.

M McCarthy would review the Board’s membership composition in relation to the appointment of the Scheme Member vacancy.

An induction session would be provided to the newly appointed Members onto the Board, and various events would be made available to all Members during the course of the year.  M McCarthy referred to an opportunity to explore a number of issues around the pensions sector, which may impact upon the Authority; he would work with the Chair and Vice Chair on the matter, and report back to the Board accordingly.

S Ross suggested that a tailored approach to training would be helpful to enhance Members’ understanding of the pensions sector.

M McCarthy stated that a pro-forma questionnaire would be despatched to Members to identify any individual training requirements.

The Pensions Regulator had indicated that the staffing level would significantly increase by 20%, and that training knowledge for the public sector would be focussed upon over the next 12 months to 2 years.

J Bailey highlighted the importance for Members to undertake GDPR training in relation to pensions administration.  An exercise was currently underway to screen the Authority’s pensions data against the deaths of Scheme Members.

J Thompson suggested that it would be useful to have a thematic approach to the Work Programme, to enable a thought process from a customer perspective and the quality of data.  She suggested that the Constitution be amended to include GDPR within the Data Protection section.

G Graham stated that a review of the Authority’s Constitution arrangements would be undertaken over the next 12 months, to include the Terms of Reference.

RESOLVED – That Members:-

i)            Commented and made suggestions for amendments to the Terms of Reference and Constitution.

ii)           Agreed to reduce the Board’s membership to 10 Members, and to recruit one Scheme Member.

iii)          Noted that the Board’s membership composition would be reviewed in relation to the appointment of the Scheme Member vacancy.

iv)         Noted that an induction session would be provided to the newly appointed Members onto the Board, and various events would be made available to all Members during the course of the year.

v)          A pro-forma questionnaire would be despatched to Members to identify any individual training requirements.

vi)         Noted that the Constitution be amended to include GDPR within the Data Protection section.

vii)        Noted that a review of the Authority’s Constitution arrangements would be undertaken over the next 12 months, to include the Terms of Reference.