Issue - meetings

Officers advised the Committee that in recent years it had become extremely difficult to recruit and retain skilled, knowledgeable and experienced staff to work in Pensions Administration. In addition to the core administration process, the key business requirements for Pensions Administration were:

·      provision and maintenance of accurate and complete data sets and information;

·      provision of a robust and resilient service to its members;

·      guidance and support to implement new government legislation and new processes;

·      development of robust customer relationships with employers and members;

·      review the processes and procedures in the service to avoid duplication to eliminate waste;

·      provision of effective, accurate management information and business intelligence to shape the service to provide value for money;

·      reduction of manual input to reduce errors and maximise efficiency;

·      provision of robust technical expertise that can be utilised to improve the service;

·      engagement with scheme members and employers to enable legislative changes to be considered and adhered to;

·      provision of self-service to enable members to access information;

·      exploiting IT and the digital agenda to provide easy use and access to information for the team and members and ensure data consistency and accuracy.

Officers had researched a number of options for consideration by the Committee. The costs of each option were identified together with the advantages, risks and issues of a preferred option.

The Committee sought clarification on a number of the costs, which officers provided. After considerable discussion the Committee agreed to:

1.    Ask the Council to agree Option 4, (subject to agreement by Lancashire County Council) that Havering Council enter into an arrangement under section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 for the discharge by Lancashire County Council of the functions of Havering Council in respect of pensions administration from 1^st October 2017 for a rolling annual period.

2.    Ask the Council to delegate to the Managing Director of oneSource authority, after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Financial Management, to agree the final terms of the arrangements with Lancashire County Council and incorporate those into an agreement subject to those terms being in the best interests of Havering Council.

3.    Delegate to the Managing Director of oneSource, after consultation with the Cabinet Member for Financial Management, power to consider any consultation required and consider the Equality Impact Assessment and make any changes she considers necessary in order to give effect to the arrangements proposed in these recommendations.

4.    Ask the Council to agree the recruitment of a Projects and Contract Manager.

5.    Note that over a 5-year period, the total cost of the service to the Pension Fund was estimated to decrease by £76,900 and would deliver a robust, resilient and future proofed service. This would include the recruitment of a Projects and Contract Manager for Havering at annual cost of up to £57,791 to be funded by the Pension Fund budget.

6.    Note that project implementation costs of the new arrangements would be £78,240 to be financed from the Pension Fund budget.