Agenda item

09:50

The report (PF6) recommended the Committee to recommend full Council to approve the full business case for the establishment of the Brunel Pension Partnership.

The report itself and Annexes 1 – 3 do not contain exempt information and are available to the public. Annexes 4 – 9 do contain commercially sensitive data relating to each of the Funds and the proposed company. The public should therefore be excluded during consideration of Annexes 4 - 9 because their discussion in public would be likely to lead to the disclosure to members of the public present of information in the following category prescribed by Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended):

3 Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that disclosure at this time is likely to prejudice the future negotiations to set up the pooling arrangements.

Members of the Committee are advised of the following order of documents:

·         Brunel Pension Partnership  - Approval of Full Business Case (FBC)(public)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – Oxfordshire – FBC - Annex 1 (public)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership  - FBC -  Document List – Annex 2 (public)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – FBC – Glossary of Terms – Annex 3 (or Annex A1 in papers) (public)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – FBC – Main Sections – Annex 4 (exempt)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – FBC – Financial Case Section  - Annex 5 (exempt)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – FBC – Economic Case Section – Annex 6 (exempt)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – FBC – Commercial Case Section – Annex 7 (exempt)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – FBC – Management Case Section – Annex 8 (exempt)

·         Brunel Pension Partnership – FBC – Risk Register Details (Part 11 paper) – Annex 9 (exempt)

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to RECOMMEND the following resolution to the Council:

In its capacity as the Administering Authority for the Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund, and having received and reviewed this report and the Business Case attached to it, the Council HEREBY RESOLVES to enter into investment pooling with respect to the Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund. 

Such Resolution is made on and subject to the following terms and conditions:

·                     THAT the Brunel Pension Partnership investment pool be developed, funded and implemented substantially in accordance with the terms and provisions described in the said Business Case, and more particularly that:  

·                    a FCA regulated company to be named Brunel Pension Partnership Limited be established, and that the company be operated with all necessary and appropriate arrangements as to its ownership, structure, governance and services capability.

·                    a new supervisory body comprising representatives of the Council and all other participants in the Brunel Pension Partnership be established to ensure oversight of the Council's investment and participation in the Brunel Pension Partnership.

·                     THAT the Pensions Committee be authorised and granted delegated powers to undertake such tasks as it thinks appropriate to progress implementation of investment pooling, and to take such decisions and do all other things deemed necessary in order to promote the interests of the Council with respect to pooling, which without limitation shall include agreeing and authorising any documentation, contracts, terms of reference, financial expenditure or investment that may be required consequential upon the Council's participation in the Brunel Pension Partnership.

·                     THAT the Chief Finance Officer and Chief Legal Officer be similarly authorised and granted delegated powers to undertake such tasks as they think appropriate to progress implementation of investment pooling, and to take such decisions and do all things deemed necessary in order to support the Pensions Committee and to promote the interests of the Council with respect to pooling, which without limitation shall include informing and advising the Pensions Committee on the continued viability and suitability of investment pooling in light of any developments, financial or otherwise, in the period up to the establishment of the Brunel Pension Partnership. 

·                     THAT subject to the above, all such matters be carried out with the aim of achieving a target date for investment pooling of 1 April 2018, and otherwise subject to such intermediate steps and timescales as may be considered appropriate and necessary by the Pensions Committee.

The Committee considered a report (PF6) which recommended the Committee to recommend full Council to approve the full business case for the establishment of the Brunel Pension Partnership.

The report itself and Annexes 1 – 3 did not contain exempt information and were available to the public. Annexes 4 – 9 did contain commercially sensitive data relating to each of the Funds and the proposed company. The public were therefore excluded during consideration of Annexes 4 - 9 because their discussion in public would be likely to lead to the disclosure to members of the public present of information in the following category prescribed by Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended):

3 Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that disclosure at this time is likely to prejudice the future negotiations to set up the pooling arrangements.

The Committee RESOLVED (unanimously) to RECOMMEND the following resolution to Council:

In its capacity as the Administering Authority for the Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund, and having received and reviewed this report and the Business Case attached to it, the Council HEREBY RESOLVES to enter into investment pooling with respect to the Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund. 

Such Resolution is made on and subject to the following terms and conditions:

·                     THAT the Brunel Pension Partnership investment pool be developed, funded and implemented substantially in accordance with the terms and provisions described in the said Business Case, and more particularly that:  

·                    a FCA regulated company to be named Brunel Pension Partnership Limited be established, and that the company be operated with all necessary and appropriate arrangements as to its ownership, structure, governance and services capability.

·                    a new supervisory body comprising representatives of the Council and all other participants in the Brunel Pension Partnership be established to ensure oversight of the Council's investment and participation in the Brunel Pension Partnership.

·                     THAT the Pension Fund Committee be authorised and granted delegated powers to undertake such tasks as it thinks appropriate to progress implementation of investment pooling, and to take such decisions and do all other things deemed necessary in order to promote the interests of the Council with respect to pooling, which without limitation shall include agreeing and authorising any documentation, contracts, terms of reference, financial expenditure or investment that may be required consequential upon the Council's participation in the Brunel Pension Partnership.

·                     THAT the Chief Finance Officer and Chief Legal Officer be similarly authorised and granted delegated powers to undertake such tasks as they think appropriate to progress implementation of investment pooling, and to take such decisions and do all things deemed necessary in order to support the Pensions Committee and to promote the interests of the Council with respect to pooling, which without limitation shall include informing and advising the Pensions Committee on the continued viability and suitability of investment pooling in light of any developments, financial or otherwise, in the period up to the establishment of the Brunel Pension Partnership. 

·                     THAT subject to the above, all such matters be carried out with the aim of achieving a target date for investment pooling of 1 April 2018, and otherwise subject to such intermediate steps and timescales as may be considered appropriate and necessary by the Pensions Committee.

The Committee RESOLVED (unanimously) to approve the full business case without amendment.