Apologies and welcomes
The Chair welcomed all those attending, including the Chief Customer Officer of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and the CEO’s newly appointed Chief of Staff.
Conflicts were declared for two items. For one of these the Board agreed that the Board members should recuse themselves; for the other the Board noted the declaration and decided this did not represent a conflict. There were no other conflicts.
The Chair’s update
The Chair has held the CEO’s half-year appraisal and the document will be shared with the Remuneration and People Committee. Half year discussions with non-executive directors are being arranged.
CEO report
Highlights of the previous period included: from October 1, the ban on contingent charging which may – among other impacts – affect scams; legislation on implementation statements on climate change has been brought into force; TPR now has the power to use the Investigation Powers Act which enables it to access communications which will be useful in combatting scams; and the Director of Legal appeared in front of the Treasury Select Committee.
The next three to six-month period will continue to be busy. We will deliver the current Corporate Plan, launch the new Corporate Strategy, deliver the reward project, manage the impact of the pandemic on pensions (particularly Defined Benefit schemes) and manage the reinstatement of bulk enforcement in Automatic Enrolment (AE).
The Strategy will be publicly launched, for discussion, in the CEO’s speech to The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) in October 2020. A series of round table discussions on the Strategy will take place in November.
On 29 September 2020, the Director of Legal, alongside the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England, presented on climate change to the Treasury Select Committee.
The Pension Schemes Bill had its second reading on the day of the Board.
The approach to penalties for Chair’s statements has been altered, replacing the current system with a flat fine of £500, and the names of the Trustees will not be published until further notice. A recent PLSA statement is helpful in guiding Trustees as to what is required, but does not obviate the need for trustees to do the thinking behind the Chair’s statement.
Spending review / budgets
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has submitted its spending request, including that relating to AE to Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT). A response from HMT to DWP on the overall departmental bid is pending.
On 5 October, a senior meeting between TPR and DWP looked at our shared priorities. TPR has been asked to support DWP in discussions with the Treasury.
Any other business
The Determinations Panel (DP) Chair, Andrew Long, completes his tenure at the end of March 2021. Interviews were held on 6 October 2020 by a recruitment panel chaired by the TPR Chair. The Board supported the panel’s recommendation of one of the candidates for appointment to the position of DP Chair.