1. Parties
- Cambridgeshire County Council
- East Sussex County Council
- Essex County Council
- Hampshire County Council
- Hertfordshire County Council
- Isle of Wight Council
- Kent County Council
- Norfolk County Council
- West Northamptonshire Council
- Suffolk County Council
- West Sussex County Council
2. Status
In order to ensure there is robust oversight of the joint pension fund investment pool, an Inter Authority Agreement has been entered into, with formal decision making responsibility exercised via a joint committee established under s.102 of the Local Government Act 1972.
3. Membership
One councillor from each of the eleven participating authorities. Each council’s nominee must be an elected councillor and must be a serving member of the authority’s Pensions Committee throughout the time of their appointment. They need not, however, be a member of the nominating council (i.e. they could be a member of another employing authority co-opted onto the pensions committee). Named substitutes shall be permitted.
4. Functions of the Joint Committee
Part 1 - Functions in relation to the Operator
1. Specifying Operator services: Deciding, in consultation with the councils, the specification of services and functions that the Operator will be required to deliver including the sub-funds and classes of investments required to enable each council to execute its investment strategy.
2. Procuring the Operator: Agreeing the method and process for the procurement and selection of the Operator.
3. Appointing the Operator: Making a recommendation to the councils as to the identity of the Operator and the terms upon which the Operator is to be appointed.
4. Reviewing the Performance of the Operator: Keeping the performance of the Operator under constant review and making arrangements to ensure that the Joint Committee is provided with regular and sufficient reports from the Officer Working Group to enable it to do so including but not limited to:
4.1 the performance of the Operator against its contractual requirements and any other performance measures such as any Service Level Agreement (SLA) and key performance indicators (KPIs) and Officer Working Group recommendations on any remedial action;
4.2 sub-fund investment performance;
4.3 investment and operational costs including the annual review of investment manager costs;
4.4 Performance against the strategic business plan agreed by the councils.
5. Managing the Operator: The Joint Committee shall:
5.1.1 Make recommendations to the councils on the termination or extension of the Operator Contract and
5.1.2 Make decisions about any other action to be taken to manage the Operator Contract including the giving of any instruction or the making of any recommendation to the Operator including but not restricted to recommendations on investment managers (within any regulatory constraints that may apply).
6. Appointment of Advisers
6.1.1 The Joint Committee may appoint such professional advisers on such terms as it thinks fit. Any procurement of advisers must comply with the constitution of the Authority designated to undertake the procurement and that Authority will enter into a contract with the appointed adviser on behalf of the Authorities.
6.1.2 The Joint Committee shall decide which tasks shall be performed by the Client Unit and which Council shall manage the Client Unit including the employment arrangements for employees in the Client Unit.
Part 2 - Functions in relation to management of Pool Assets
7. The Joint Committee shall make recommendations to the councils on the strategic plan for transition of assets that are to become Pool Assets.
Part 3 - Functions Concerning Pool Aligned Assets
8. Making recommendations to the councils about Pool Aligned Assets (including proposals concerning the migration of investments-such as passive investments via life fund policies-to become Pool Aligned Assets) in accordance with the IAA or any other delegation to the Joint Committee by the councils.
Part 4 - Functions concerning Business Planning and Budget
9. Make recommendations to the councils about the annual strategic business plan for the Pool.
10. Determine the budget necessary to implement that plan and meet the expenses of undertaking the Specified Functions (insofar as they will not be met by individual transaction costs paid by councils to the Operator) in accordance with Schedule 5 of the IAA.
11. Keep the structures created by the IAA under review from time to time and make recommendations to the councils about:
11.1 the future of the Pool;
11.2 any changes to the IAA; and
11.3 as to the respective merits of continuing to procure operator services by means of a third party or by creation of an operator owned by the Councils.
12. The Joint Committee is required to commence the first review of the IAA by the second anniversary of its first meeting.
13. The Joint Committee is required to undertake a review of the Pool and the IAA:
13.1 to be completed 18 months before the expiry of each and every Operator Contract including as a result of the exercise of any option to terminate the Operator Contract;
13.2 whenever a council gives notice of withdrawal under clause 12 of the IAA.
5. Standing Orders of the Joint Committee
Part 1 - Membership
1. The Joint Committee shall consist of one elected councillor appointed by each council. The member so appointed must, at the time of the appointment, be an elected councillor serving as a member of the Committee of a council which discharges the functions of that council as pension administering authority.
2. Each council may appoint a substitute. Any substitute must meet the eligibility requirements in paragraph 1. The substitute may attend any meeting of the Joint Committee or any of its sub-committees in place of that authority’s principal member if notice that the substitute will attend is given to the Secretary of the Joint Committee by the council concerned.
3. Where a substitution notice is in effect with respect to a particular member at a particular meeting, the substitute shall be a full member of the Joint Committee for the duration of the meeting in place of the principal member.
4. Each council may remove its appointed member and appoint a different member by giving written notice to the secretary to the Joint Committee.
5. Each appointed member shall be entitled to remain on the Joint Committee for so long as the council appointing them so wishes, but shall cease to be a member if he or she ceases to meet the eligibility criteria in paragraph 1l or if that council removes the appointed member.
6. Any casual vacancies will be filled as soon as reasonably practicable by the Council from which such vacancy arises by giving written notice to the Secretary to the Joint Committee or his or her nominee.
7. The Joint Committee may co-opt any other person whom it thinks fit to be a non-voting member of the committee. The Joint Committee may from time to time make rules as to:
7.1 Registration and declaration of interests by co-opted members.
7.2 Standards of behaviour required to be observed by co-opted members when acting as such.
8. The Chair of the Joint Committee will be appointed from time to time by the members of the Joint Committee. Subject to paragraph 5, the Chair of the Joint Committee shall hold that office until their replacement is appointed which shall be at the first meeting to take place after the second anniversary of their appointment.
9. The Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee will be appointed from time to time by the members of the Joint Committee. Subject to paragraph 5, the Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee shall hold that office until their replacement is appointed which shall be at the first meeting to take place after the second anniversary of their appointment.
10. The Joint Committee may appoint sub-committees from among its membership as it thinks will help it to enable it to fulfil its remit. The Joint Committee may delegate its responsibilities to such sub-committees. Sub-Committees may co-opt non-voting members.
11. The Joint Committee may set up working groups to advise it on matters within it remit. Such working groups may be formed of members or officers of the constituent authorities or any other third party as the Joint Committee sees fit. Such working groups are advisory only and the Joint Committee may not delegate its responsibilities to such working groups.
12. Each member of the Joint Committee and any Sub-committee shall comply with any relevant code of conduct of their council when acting as a member of the Joint Committee.
13. The Chair may direct the Secretary to call a meeting and may require any item of business to be included in the summons.
14. Any five members of the Joint Committee may by notice in writing require the Chair to call a meeting to consider a particular item of business and if the Chair fails to do so within 20 working days of receipt of the notice then those five members may direct the secretary to call a meeting to consider that business.
15. The Committee may, if the law permits, arrange for attendance at meetings via video conferencing. Any such attendance shall be in accordance with the law and any other requirements imposed by the Joint Committee from time to time.
Part 2 - Proceedings
16. Time and Place of Meetings
The Joint Committee will meet at least four times each year. All meetings of the Joint Committee will take place at a suitable venue and at a time to be agreed by the councils.
17. Notice of and Summons to Meetings
The secretary to the Joint Committee will give notice to the public of the time and place of any meeting in accordance with Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972. At least five clear days before a meeting, the secretary to the Joint Committee will send a summons by email and if a member so requests by post to every Member at their last known address. The summons will give the date, time and place of each meeting and specify the business to be transacted, and will be accompanied by such reports as are available.
18. Chairing of Joint Committee
The Vice-Chair shall preside in the absence of the Chair. If there is a quorum of members present but neither the Chair nor the Vice-Chair is present at a meeting of the Joint Committee, the other members of the Joint Committee shall choose one of the members of the Joint Committee to preside at the meeting.
19. Quorum
19.1 The quorum of a meeting will be at least eight members who are entitled to attend and vote.
19.2 If there is no quorum present at the start of the meeting the meeting may not commence. If after one hour from the time specified for the start of the meeting no quorum is present then the meeting shall stand adjourned to another time and date determined by the secretary.
20. Voting
20.1 Majority
Each elected member shall have one vote. Co-opted members will not have a vote. Any matter will be decided by a simple majority of those members of the councils represented in the room at the time the question is put. In the event of equality of votes the person presiding at the meeting will be entitled to a casting vote under paragraphs 39(1) and 44 of Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act 1972.
20.2 Substitutes
The member appointed as a substitute shall have the same voting rights as the member for whom he or she is substituting. Where notice of substitution has been given for a particular meeting the principal member may not vote unless the notice of substitution is withdrawn before the start of the meeting.
20.3 Show of hands
The Chair will take the vote by show of hands, or if there is no dissent, by the affirmation of the meeting.
20.4 Recording of individual votes
The minutes of the meeting shall record how a member of the Committee voted on a particular question if, at the time that the vote is taken or immediately thereafter, that member asks the secretary or his or her representative at the meeting to record his vote.
21. Minutes
21.1 The secretary to the Joint Committee shall arrange for written minutes to be taken at each meeting of the Joint Committee and shall present them to the Joint Committee at its next meeting for approval as a correct record. At the next meeting of the Joint Committee, the Chair shall move that the minutes of the previous meeting be signed as a correct record. If this is agreed, the Chair of the Joint Committee shall sign the minutes. The only part of the minutes that can be discussed is their accuracy.
21.2 Draft minutes or a summary of the decisions taken at the meeting and a note of the actions arising shall be circulated to the Committee and to each council by email no later than 7 days after the date of the meeting.
22. Any elected member of the councils who is not a member of the Joint Committee may speak at a meeting of the Joint Committee if the Chair of the Joint Committee invites him or her to do so but an elected member of the councils who is not a member of the Joint Committee shall not be entitled to vote at a meeting of the Joint Committee.
23, Meetings of the Joint Committee shall be open for members of the public to attend unless the Joint Committee determines that it is necessary to exclude members of the public in accordance with Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972 or the Joint Committee determines that it is necessary to close the meeting to the public because of a disturbance.
23.1 Copies of the agenda for meetings of the Joint Committee and any reports for its meetings shall be open to inspection by members of the public at the offices of the Councils with the exception of any report which the Secretary to the Joint Committee determines relates to items which in his or her opinion are likely to be considered at a time when the meeting is not to be open to the public.
24. Minutes of the meeting shall be published by the Host Authority to the extent required by Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972.
25. If a member of the public interrupts proceedings, the Chair will warn the person concerned. If they continue to interrupt, the Chair will arrange for their removal from the meeting room and will suspend the meeting until the member of the public has left or been removed.
26. If there is a general disturbance in any part of the meeting room open to the public, the Chair may call for that part to be cleared.
27. Overview and Scrutiny
27.1 Each council has overview and scrutiny committees which have the right to scrutinise the operation of the Joint Committee and the Joint Committee and the Host Authority will co-operate with reasonable requests for information from any of the councils’ overview and scrutiny committees.
27.2 The decisions of the Joint Committee are not subject to call-in.
28. Regulation of Business
28.1 Any ruling given by the Chair as to the interpretation of the standing orders with respect to the regulation of proceedings at meeting shall be final.
28.2 Subject to the law, the provisions of the standing orders and the terms of any contract, the Joint Committee may decide how it discharges its business.
[Chapter E5 (Local Government Pension Scheme ACCESS Joint Committee) was last amended on 11 February 2025]
A PDF version of this chapter is available to view or download on the CMIS section of the Council’s website, along with a PDF version of the full constitution.
