Agenda item

Members are invited to consider the requirements for Member training and to consider whether to recommend them to Council.

The Committee was advised that the Pensions Committee had considered the outcome of the Annual review of the Statement of Investment Principles and undertaken a review of its Governance Compliance Statement.  There was concern that not all members of that Committee had received suitable training.  Members also expressed the view that named substitute Members should be trained to the same level as Committee Members themselves.  To encourage all Members to avail themselves of the training opportunities, the Pensions Committee had recommended that its Terms of Reference be amended.

The Pensions Committee was expected to conform to the “Myners Principles”, which were set out in the Appendix to the report.

Whilst reviewing its Governance Compliance Statement, the Pensions Committee also considered its current duties and terms of reference on the appointment of advisors and felt that these needed amendment.

The Audit Committee had also given consideration to the need to ensure that all Members of that Committee, and named substitutes, should be adequately trained.

Members expressed various views concerning the need for training.  Whilst the majority view was that because of the technical and changing nature of the financial aspects involved in Pensions and Audit, a straight-forward “lay” approach was no longer tenable and whilst acknowledging that the role of Members was not the same as that of officers, a sound understanding of the issues and even the terminology being used was essential to good decision-making. 

The proposal was put to the vote and was CARRIED 11 votes to 1.

For:   Councillors Clarence Barrett, Becky Bennett, Robert Benham, Osman Dervish, Gillian Ford, Paul McGeary, Eric Munday, Roger Ramsey, Frederick Thompson, Lynden Thorpe and Michael White

Against:  Councillor Jeffrey Tucker.

A Member queried the wording of recommendation 1 and, after discussion, it was decided by the Committee to amend the wording to read: “To authorise staff to invite tenders and to award contracts to actuaries, advisers and fund managers and in respect of other related matters”.

RESOLVED

That the Committee RECOMMEND to the Council that:

1.            Part 3 of the Constitution, paragraph 1.2 Functions delegated to general council committees be amended as follows:

a.                  Advisers and Investment managers

            To “Authorise staff to invite tenders and to award contracts to actuaries, advisers and fund managers and in respect of other related investment matters

            To appoint and review the performance of advisers and investment managers for pension fund investments.”

2.            Part 4 of the Constitution, Paragraph 12 Pensions Committee amended to read:

(a)               The bodies that are Scheduled or Admitted Bodies of the Havering Pensions Fund for the purposes of the Local Government Pensions Scheme are entitled between them to nominate a representative who shall be co-opted to serve on the Committee with voting rights.

3.      Section 3, of the constitution, Committee Procedure Rules paragraph 17 ‘Training and continuity of membership of certain committees’, sub paragraphs (a) and (c) be amended by the addition of the following sentence at the end of both paragraphs “If a member does not undertake the required training within six months of appointment then that member shall not partake in the decision making of the Committee until their training has been completed” and at the end of paragraph (c): “Non-nominated members may not act as substitutes.”