Agenda and draft minutes

Please note this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method.  Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on.  By entering the ‘meeting room’, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual, or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Da Costa

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business.  (Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be dealt with under item 13 below).

There were no items of urgent business.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Register of Members’ Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct

The Public Service Pensions Act 2013 defines a conflict of interest as a financial or other interest which is likely to prejudice a person’s exercise of functions. Therefore, a conflict of interest may arise when an individual:

i)             Has a responsibility or duty in relation to the management of, or provision of advice to, the LBHPF, and

ii)            At the same time, has:

-       a separate personal interest (financial or otherwise) or

-       another responsibility in relation to that matter,

giving rise to a possible conflict with their first responsibility. An interest could also arise due to a family member or close colleague having a specific responsibility or interest in a matter.

At the commencement of the meeting, the Chair will ask all Members of the Committee and Board to declare any new potential conflicts and these will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and the Fund’s Register of Conflicts of Interest. Any individual who considers that they or another individual has a potential or actual conflict of interest which relates to an item of business at a meeting must advise the Chair prior to the meeting, where possible, or state this clearly at the meeting at the earliest possible opportunity.

Conflicts of Interest – The former Pensions Committee approved a Conflicts of Interest Policy at its meeting held on 14 January 2016. A slightly amended Conflicts of Interest Policy was approved by the PCB at its meeting held on 27 March 2017 and also at the meetings held on 14 March 2019 and 21 January 2021. The Governance Review received by the new PCB at its first meeting held on 20 September 2016 included a Recommendation that “each meeting of the combined Pensions Committee and Board commences with an item “Declarations of Interest and Conflicts of Interest” rather than simply “Declarations of Interest” as was the practice of the former Pensions Committee. This would make clear the declaration responsibilities of members as both Pensions Committee and Pensions Board members and that the Fund is seeking to actively identify, monitor and manage any relevant issues as appropriate.” With effect from the meeting held on 22 November 2016 an Agenda item “Declarations of Interest and Conflicts of Interest” was  ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

Grace Annesley attended the committee and presented a deputation, the below is a summary of this:

Grace attended the committee to urge Haringey Council to take decisive action, and that was to divest from companies involved in the occupation of Palestinian land and divest from arms companies. She explained that local activism aligned with the broader public opinion on this matter, 56% of UK voters supported a ban on armed exports to states engaged in human rights abuses.

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Cllr White queried her representation of pensions funds members, she explained she undertook an online petition to collect names and signatures to form part of a network.
• She had reached out to Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest council and would like to pass this information across to the committee.
• The Future World Fund does not have blanket exclusions to companies of this nature. There was a version of the fund which followed the European Union's Paris aligned benchmark designation which excluded particular companies.
• In terms of progress, there have been workshops with the committee in terms to understand priorities. This included a survey and officers were going through the analysis, officers were also looking at investments against each priority that was identified through the survey. The team had underestimated the task and how complex it was, aiming to bring a draft responsible Investment policy to the September Committee.

Cllr Dunstall responded to the deputation:

Thank you for taking the time to make your deputation and speak to us tonight. As you’ll be aware, the Council is the administering authority of the Haringey Local Government Pension Scheme, and the PCB exercises that function under the Council’s Constitution. The PCB has a legal duty to manage the Fund by investing in a diverse range of asset classes including equities, bonds, property, and infrastructure in accordance with the Investment Strategy. This diversification aims to generate sufficient long-term returns, ensuring the Fund can fulfil its obligation to pay members’ pension benefits as they fall due.

To fulfil this responsibility, the Fund has, for several years, maintained a policy of investing passively in equity markets through pooled funds managed by external investment managers. This approach minimises investment costs while ensuring appropriate diversification for the Fund. This means that the Fund does not directly hold any shares in individual companies. Pooled funds aim to track the performance of a specific index, following a rules-based approach established by the index provider. Consequently, pursuing exclusionary policies for individual companies or sectors is not feasible without incurring significant costs. Such actions risk financial detriment to the Fund and could breach our fiduciary duty.

As previously stated, the fund does not directly hold any shares in individual companies, however, it does have an exposure risk as a result of those tracker funds, All of the Fund's listed equities are invested through low-carbon tracker funds. This includes the RAFI Multi-Factor Climate Transition Fund, which aims for a 7% annual reduction in carbon  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Note from the Head of Legal and Governance (Monitoring Officer)

When considering the items below, the Committee will be operating in its capacity as ‘Administering Authority’. When the Committee is operating in its capacity as an Administering Authority, Members must have due regard to their duty as quasi-trustees to act in the best interest of the Pension Fund above all other considerations.

There was no training undertaken since the last meeting by members.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the Pensions Committee and Board meeting held on 25^th February as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 25^th February 2024 be confirmed and signed as a correct record with a few minor amendments.

Report to follow.

RESOLVED

Pensions Committee and Board are asked to:

Confirm the appointment of two employer members and two employee members for a four year term of office.

This report updates the Pensions Committee and Board on the Fund's ongoing Responsible Investment development and implementation work. It also provides an update on the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum's (LAPFF) engagement and voting activities conducted on behalf of the Fund.

Taryn Eves introduced the item. This report updated the Pensions Committee and Board on the Fund's ongoing Responsible Investment development and implementation work. It also provided an update on the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum's (LAPFF) engagement and voting activities conducted on behalf of the Fund.

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Cllr Bevan asked officers to ensure LAPPF emails were circulated to co-opted members. Taryn Eves assured members that officers were working to ensure the timeline was still met despite delays. Some of the delays particularly before Christmas, were from the team putting in place the permissions to allow for access to the data.
• Taryn Eves explained that divestment has not been explicitly considered to date but there were future workshops scheduled to explore ideas further
• Cllr Dunstall noted the point of the responsible investment work for members to consider the ESG in the widest possible context. The conversations that the group have had to date were around understanding firstly, what the exposure to issues were; secondly what were tolerances I suppose for some of that is. What members wanted to try and get to was a framework for decision making that reflected the values that we have whilst not undermining duties as a administering authority.
• Keith Brown noted that members had to focus on how much the government wanted to intervene on the allocation of pension fund money.
• Taryn Eves explained that completion of works was heading for September.

RESOLVED

The Pensions Committee and Board is requested to note the content of this report.

This report provides the Pensions Committee and Board (PCB) with the following updates regarding Pension Fund’s administration activities:

·         Pension Fund membership update

·         Online Member Self Service portal update

·         Update on Service Level Agreement (SLA) statistics

·         Pensions Dashboard Project (PDP) update

·         Update on 2023-24 Pension Fund Audit

·         Independent Advisors LGPS Update

Rebecca Moore presented this item. This provided the committee with the following updates regarding Pension Fund’s administration activities:

• Pension Fund membership update

• Online Member Self Service portal update

• Update on Service Level Agreement (SLA) statistics

• Pensions Dashboard Project (PDP) update

• Update on 2023-24 Pension Fund Audit

• Independent Advisors LGPS Update

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Jamie Abbott recently took up the position of the Head of Pensions role. Officers were actively looking at the structure in the pensions team and the capacity. Due to the level of work there may be a requirement for more roles within the team over the next 12 to 24 months.
• In the consultation 2026 was the date for the new regime, the Government wanted the pools to have a lot more influence, particularly not only implementation, but also in terms of investment strategy. The government also wanted to have more overview and scrutiny, and essentially in the end control of the pools. The pools were encouraged to think about their futures.

RESOLVED

To note this report and the information provided regarding the Pension Fund’s administration activities for the quarter ending 31 Dec 2024.

This paper has been prepared to update the Pensions Committee and Board on the Pension Fund’s risk register and provide an opportunity for the Pensions Committee and Board to further review the risk score allocation.

Jamie Abbott presented this item. This paper had been prepared to update the Pensions Committee and Board on the Pension Fund’s risk register and provide an opportunity for the Pensions Committee and Board to further review the risk score allocation.

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Cllr White asked officers roundabout to write a reminder to the chief whips of the two political groups. There was a commitment to do everything that they could to keep the membership of the committee as steady as possible and the not doing so was a risk to the to the pension fund.

RESOLVED

To note and provide any comments on the Fund’s risk register. The area of focus for review at this meeting will be Administrative-related risks.

This report provides the Pensions Committee and Board (PCB) with the following updates on the Pension Fund’s performance for the quarter ended 31 December 2024:

·         Overview of fund performance including funding position update

·         Independent advisor’s market commentary

·         Investment manager performance

·         Asset allocation  

Jamie Abbott presented this item. This report provided the Pensions Committee and Board (PCB) with the following updates on the Pension Fund’s performance for the quarter ended 31 December 2024:

• Overview of fund performance including funding position update

• Independent advisor’s market commentary

• Investment manager performance

• Asset allocation

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Steve Turner explained to the committee that members had taken steps over the past few years to diversify some of the risks. The fund was not as reliant on equity markets, with only 40% in equities for example, whereas some other LGPS funds would have materially more than that. When there are periods of market volatility, it does stress some of the benefits of having those diversifying allocations. As we go through the actuarial evaluation, officers would want to review the investment strategy alongside that, particularly bearing in mind the size of the surplus that the fund was currently showing based on the Hyman's analysis.

RESOLVED

To note the information provided in section 6 of this report regarding the Fund’s investment performance and activity for the quarter ended 31 December 2024.

This paper has been prepared to identify and agree upon the key priorities for the Pensions Committee and Board (PCB) over the upcoming months, as well as seek the PCB’s input into future agendas.

Jamie Abbott presented this item. This paper had been prepared to identify and agree upon the key priorities for the Pensions Committee and Board (PCB) over the upcoming months, as well as seek the PCB’s input into future agendas.

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Jamie explained that responsible investment goes on to December because the team were meeting in April to look at the key beliefs and how that tied in with current fund managers. Once this meeting has occurred and the team had agreed the beliefs this would be drafted So, it could lead on to September but definitely would be finalised by June.

• Cllr Bevan suggested putting a member from the committee forward to LAPPF executive relations. Officers would look into the process.

RESOLVED

To note and provide any comments on the progress made towards the agreed key priorities outlined in section 6 of this report, specifically in regarding the responsible investment policy development and implementation of the fund governance review recommendations.

To identify additional matters and training requirements for inclusion within the Pensions Committee and Board’s forward plan.

This paper has been prepared to outline the proposed implementation of the funds governance review recommendations following the review undertaken by the Funds independent advisor. Officers welcome comment from the Pensions Committee and Board on the content and timeframe.

Taryn Eves presented the item. This paper had been prepared to outline the proposed implementation of the funds governance review recommendations following the review undertaken by the Funds independent advisor. Officers welcome comment from the Pensions Committee and Board on the content and timeframe.

The following was noted in response to questions from the committee:

• Cllr Iyngkaran sought clarification on the timelines of work. The work would not start before the start date quoted.

• The business plan was quite a fundamental piece of work. There may well be a few of those that slip through to 26/27, but the team knew their commitment was that they would complete this on a risk-based approach.

RESOLVED

To note and provide any comments regarding the proposed implementation plan of the fund governance review recommendations.

There were none.

TBC

Items 18-20 are likely to be subject to a motion to exclude the press and public from the meeting as they contain exempt information as defined in Section 100a of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by Section 12A of the Local Government Act 1985); para 3 – namely information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and para 5 – information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings.

As per item 12

This report presents the LCIV/CBRE Indirect Real Estate Pooling Solution to the Pensions Committee and Board for review and approval.