A summary of The Pensions Regulator (TPR) Board meeting in July 2023.
Apologies, welcomes, declarations of conflicts of interest
The Chair welcomed everybody to the meeting, including the Director General Disability, Health and Pensions, DWP, who was observing, and the NextGen NED. As the Chair was only able to attend part of the meeting, it was agreed the Senior Independent Director should chair.
A declaration of interest had been received in advance but was not deemed to require recusal from the meeting. A section of the CEO report had been classified as UPSI and redacted for external guests.
CEO report
The CEO updated the Board on developments including publications following the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, operational challenges, update on internal risks out of appetite, Front Line Regulation, Automatic Enrolment (AE) and an update on TPR’s broader powers in terms of regulation.
The Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) and directors had participated in an informal session on the pensions ecosystem and the CEO noted that the challenge now would be to integrate this into TPR’s work.
‘My TPR’ staff survey results
The Board were presented with a top-level survey of the findings of this year’s survey for information. The response rate had been high and the overall picture was one of stability. As in previous years TPR had scored comparatively favourably against public sector comparators.
Actions arising from the Public Bodies Review
The Board were provided with a a summary of draft recommendations, together with a summary of the actions TPR plans to take in response. The review had focused on four main areas: efficacy, governance, accountability and efficiency. The recommendations were discussed and the team were thanked for their work.
AE Contact Centre: Procurement Business Case for HGS Contract Extension
The AE contact centre had been outsourced to HGS since August 2021 and the current contract was due to expire in February 2024. The Board agreed to authorise the extension of the initial three-year agreement with HGS for a further four years.
Review of Board standing orders (inc. RaPCo, ARAC and NEC TORs)
The Board reviewed and, subject to changes, agreed amendments that had been proposed to reflect recommendations from December’s Board Effectiveness Review and the ongoing governance review.
Any other business
None.