The Chair will announce details of the arrangements in case of fire or other events that might require the meeting room or building’s evacuation.

The Chairman reminded members of the actions to be taken if they were to be disconnected from the virtual meeting.

(if any) – receive.

Apologies were received from Mark Holder.

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

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

There were no disclosures of interests.

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on 21 November 2023 and authorise the Chair to sign them.

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record.

(If any) – receive.

The feedback from the Pensions Committee was incorporated into the Pensions Committee Papers Review item.

Members noted the updated communications policy was due to be presented to the Pensions Committee in November 2024. Officers explained to the Board that the plan had been presented to members for their comments.

Members noted there were different plans for communicating with members of the pension fund and scheme employers.

The Board noted the report.

The Board was presented with the Council’s Risk Register.

The Chairman and members suggested the fund’s target be added to the register to allow members to track any progress easier.

The Board noted the position of the register.

The Board was presented with a Pensions Administration and Legislation update.

It was explained to members that the performance for the quarter was above target the only casework under 95% was deaths and estimates. Members noted the helpdesk wait times had started to fall with the average being just under 2 minutes with the satisfaction with regards to the helpdesk having increased. Work was undergoing to receive more feedback on the helpdesk.

AI was explained to have reduced the risk of data leaks as it was explained that ‘phishing’ was the primary access method. An external company conducted annual penetration tests.

The Board asked for enquiries to be made regarding the viability of giving Board members Havering email addresses to reduced GDPR risks.

The Board noted the report.

The Board was presented with a report on the Pensions Administration Strategy Monitoring for 2024/25.

Members noted Havering had checks it needed to undertake as an administration authority with some PAS tasks to be removed as they were not being monitored. Members also noted the last consultation was in 2021 and there were no plans of a future consultation as there had been no major changes.

The Board noted the report.

The Board was presented with a review of the Pension Committee Papers.

It was noted that the money had increased but was still underperforming against the tactical benchmark. The consultation on the next steps had closed with 152 responses. CBRE reported no issues and feedback had been received at the previous Pensions Committee meeting.

The Board noted the report.