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 - Operating the Pool and taking advice
1. The Joint Committee shall consult with and consider the advice of the Project Connect Programme Board (PCPB) (and, where requested, the Monitoring Officers and from appropriate professional advisers) in discharging its functions, recording, if appropriate, where such advice is not followed and the rationale for not doing so.
2. The Joint Committee shall adhere to the ACCESS Pool’s principles of governing and collaboration at all times.
Part 2 - Functions in relation to the Operator(s)
3. Novating the Operator Agreement: agreeing the method and process for the novation of the Operator Agreement following a recommendation from Project Connect Programme Board.
4. Appointing an Operator: Appointing an Operator and determining the terms upon which a new Operator is to be appointed, in each case following a recommendation from PCPB.
5. Terminating the Operator Agreement: deciding to terminate the Operator Agreement, following a recommendation from PCPB.
Part 3 - Functions Concerning Business Planning
6. Having taken account of any advice from the PCPB (or, where relevant, recording the rationale for not following such advice), the Joint Committee shall approve the annual strategic business plan for the Pool.
Part 4 - Terminating the Pool
7. Terminating the IAA: deciding to terminate the IAA, following a recommendation from PCPB.
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 or be an elected councillor of another council and serving as a member of the committee of a Council which discharges the functions of that Council as pension administering authority (established under Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972). 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. Any member who ceases to meet the eligibility criteria in paragraph 1 or 2 (as appropriate) shall automatically cease to be a member of the Joint Committee.
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. The appointment of the Chair shall take place every two years, beginning with the Commencement Date with subsequent appointments falling not later than the first meeting of the Joint Committee following the annual meetings of the Councils in the relevant years.
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. The appointment of the Vice-Chair shall take place every two years, beginning with the Commencement Date with subsequent appointments falling not later than the first meeting of the Joint Committee following the annual general meetings of the Councils in the relevant years.
10. Each member of the Joint Committee shall comply with any relevant code of conduct of their council when acting as a member of the Joint Committee.
11. The Chair may direct the Secretary to the Joint Committee to call a meeting and may require any item of business to be included in the summons.
12. 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 the Joint Committee to call a meeting to consider that business.
13. 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
14. Time and Place of Meetings
14.1 The Joint Committee will meet at least once 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.
14.2 Any Section 151 Officer, Monitoring Officer, Senior LGPS Officer or other officer of a Council who is a member of PCPB is entitled to attend all parts of all meetings of the Joint Committee.
15. Notice of and Summons to Meetings
15.1 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 of the Joint Committee 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.
16. Chairing of Joint Committee
16.1 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.
17. Quorum
17.1 The quorum of a meeting will be at least five members who are entitled to attend and vote.
17.2 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 to the Joint Committee.
18. Voting
18.1 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.
18.2 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.
18.3 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.
18.4 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 to Joint Committee or his or her representative at the meeting to record his vote.
19. Minutes
19.1 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.
19.2 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.
19.3. Minutes of the meeting shall be published by the Host Authority to the extent required by Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972.
20. Access for elected members of the Councils
20.1 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.
20.2 Any other member of a Council's pensions committee established under Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 may attend a meeting of the Joint Committee at the discretion of the Chair in the capacity of an observer. Such persons shall not be entitled to vote, nor may they speak unless invited to do so by the Chairman. Such persons shall not be subject to the provisions of paragraph 21.1 below (the power to exclude members of the public in accordance with Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972). Notice of Joint Committee Meetings shall be given by the Secretary to such persons under paragraph 15. Such persons shall receive copies of the minutes provided to members of the Joint Committee in accordance with paragraph 19.1 and 19.2.
21. Public Access
21.1 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.
21.2 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.
21.3. If a member of the public interrupts proceedings, the Chair will warn the person concerned. If that person continues to interrupt, the Chair will arrange for that person to be removed from the meeting room and will suspend the meeting until the member of the public has left or been removed.
21.4. 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.
22. Overview and Scrutiny
22.1 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.
22.2 The decisions of the Joint Committee are not subject to call-in.
23. Regulation of Business
23.1 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.
23.2 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 14 July 2026]
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.
