Apologies were received from Councillors Robert Benham for the inability to attend the meeting.

Members are invited to disclose any interest in any of the items on the agenda at this point of the meeting.

Members may still disclose any interest in any item at any time prior to the consideration of the matter.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2022 and authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting 13 December 2022 were accepted as a true and accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive the minutes of the Local Pension Board. LBP minutes of 07 February 2023 attached for noting.

The Local Pension Board minutes of 07/02/23 were noted.

It was agreed that the public should be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that it was likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of proceedings, if members of the public were present during these items there would be disclosure to them of exempt information within the meaning of paragraph 3 and 5 of schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Report and appendices attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that provided an overview of how the Fund’s investments were performing, how the individual Investment Managers were also performing against their set targets and any relevantLocal Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) updates for the quarter ended 31 December 2022.

It was explained that significant events had occurred after the production of the report and there were addressed further. The Fund increased in value by £4.53m over the quarter; however, it underperformed the tactical benchmark by -4.46% and outperformed the strategic benchmark by 5.68%.

Hymans discussed the Fund’s performance and various issues that arose from the monitoring of the other managers.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report and appendix attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that included a paper produced by the Fund Investment Advisor. Exempt Appendix A set out a follow up on the Fund’s Actuarial valuation as at 31 March 2022, reviewing if any changes were necessary to the current Investment Strategy Statement.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report and appendix attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that set out the proposed content of a draft climate transition plan and policy for discussion before the final version would be submitted for approval at a later meeting.

Hymans discussed the outline structure and content of the proposed climate policy and gathered views and feedback with the aim of finalising the policy at the following Committee meeting in July 2023.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that ensured that it was good practice to ensure the Authority had a policy in place regarding the treatment of overpaid pensions following the death of a pensioner or dependant member.

It was explained that the policy was introduced in March 2019 enabling overpayments of pension of less than £250 net following the death of a pensioner or dependant member, where there was no ongoing dependant pension payable, to be automatically written off. This ensured that any overpayments were treated in a fair and equitable manner and it would prevent the administration team seeking individual write off approvals. It was agreed that the policy would be reviewed annually.

Furthermore, during 2021/22, the overpayments written off in line with the policy totalled £4,321.89, which fell within the expected average of £5,000 in any financial year.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report attached.

The Committee was presented with a report on the administration of the Havering Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) and it was provided via a shared service agreement with Lancashire County Council (LCC) who delegated the function to the Local Pensions Partnership Administration (LPPA). The report detailed the LPPA’s proposed budget for 2023/24 of £0.533m, an overall increase of 2.66% from 2022/23.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report and appendix attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that was produced by the Fund’s Investment Advisor (Hymans), and presented with a summary of the Fund’s investment mangers’ Voting an Engagement activities over the 12-month period to 30 June 2022.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report and appendix attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that provided the 2022 Actuarial Valuation Report and was prepared by the Fund’s Actuary in accordance with Regulation 62 of the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013.

The report set out an actuarial valuation of the assets and liabilities of the pension fund as at 31 March 2022 and also set out the minimum contributions to be paid by each employer from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026 as determined by the Fund’s Actuary.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Report attached.

The Committee were presented with a report that reviewed the performance of the Custodian, Northern Trust, for the period 1 October 2021 to 30 September 2022.

The Committee agreed the recommendations.

Reports attached.

The Committee were presented with various admissions into the Havering Pension Fund. Approval for Kindred, May Harris Multi Services and Mears Group were sought for admission into the Havering Pension Fund.

The Committee agreed the recommendations of all 3 reports.