(Prior to the commencement of this item, Councillors Dr Walsh, Blanchard-Cooper and Lury all redeclared their Personal Interests made at the start of the meeting).
The Leader of the Council, Councillor Dr Walsh, presented this report explaining that the Local Government Pension Scheme was a statutory pension scheme and as such, its rules were laid down under Act of Parliament. However, an employer had certain discretions to enhance members' benefits under the Scheme’s regulations. Employers who participated in the Local Government Pension Scheme were required to have a discretions policy which should be kept under regular review. The discretions available to employers were set out in the regulations, some of which were mandatory, meaning that the Council had to have a written policy stating its position on these discretions. There was no requirement to have a written policy for non-mandatory discretions, however, in the interests of transparency and completeness, these had been included. It was highlighted that UNISON had been consulted and the discretions policy had been discussed and agreed at a recent Staff Consultation Panel meeting held on 24 June 2020. Details of the changes that have been made following the most recent annual review had been set out in the appendices within the report for approval by the Council. Councillor Dr Walsh then proposed the two recommendations set out in the report which were then seconded by Councillor Oppler.
The Council
RESOLVED – That
(1) The proposed changes to Arun District Council’s Pension Discretions as set out in Appendix 1 and 2 to the report be approved; and
(2) Delegated authority be given to the Group Head of Corporate Support to make necessary changes to the pension discretions resulting from changes to employment legislation or Council Policy.