The Pensions Fund Committee for West Northamptonshire Council is scheduled to meet on 9 December 2025, at The Jeffrey Room - The Guildhall, Northampton. The agenda includes a review of governance and compliance, the final statement of accounts for 2024-2025, a conflicts of interest policy, a pension dashboard update, and an effectiveness review. Also to be discussed are the administration strategy and performance, and the forward agenda plan.

Governance and Compliance

The committee will receive the Governance and Compliance Report, which includes updates on:

• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) England and Wales
• Pension Dashboards
• Scheme Advisory Board (SAB)
• The Pensions Regulator (TPR)
• Skills and knowledge opportunities

The report also notes immaterial amendments made to policies or strategies as a result of officer reviews.

Conflicts of Interest Policy

The committee will be asked to approve the updated Conflicts of Interest Policy. The policy details how actual and potential conflicts of interest are identified and managed by those involved in the management and governance of the Northamptonshire Pension Fund. The proposed amendments to the policy include:

• Adding a section to confirm the General Code of Practice requirements on managing conflicts of interest.
• Updating the wording to confirm that any Member representatives of the Fund and senior Officers must adhere to both the ACCESS and Border to Coast Pension Partnership's (BCPP) requirements related to actual and potential conflicts of interest during the transitional period.
• Adding a line to confirm that when Officers, Pension Board or Pension Committee members receive a gift or hospitality in the course of acting on behalf of the Fund or participating in Fund-related events, they must notify Democratic Services and, where deemed appropriate, complete a separate declaration form.
• Adding a new section to confirm that all stakeholders covered by this policy must receive adequate training and understand where actual and potential conflicts of interest can occur and how to manage them effectively, with support provided by the Fund's governance advisers where appropriate.

Pension Dashboard Update

The committee will be asked to note the Pension Dashboards Update. The Fund was required to connect to the Pension Dashboards infrastructure by 31 October 2025, and to be able to respond to requests from the public by 31 October 2026. The Fund continues to work with its Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) providers Prudential and Standard Life to ensure members can easily access their details on the dashboard.

Northamptonshire Pension Fund Effectiveness Review

The committee will be presented with a report on the outcomes of the Northamptonshire Pension Fund Committee Effectiveness Review and an update on the 2024 Effectiveness Review action plan. The effectiveness review survey was issued to 13 members of the Committee to seek their views on a range of subject matters related to the current governance arrangements of the Northamptonshire Pension Fund. The review consisted of 49 questions in the following areas:

• Committee structure and culture
• Management of meetings
• Knowledge and training
• Risks and conflicts
• Advisors
• Documents and policies
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Final Statement of Accounts 2024-2025

The committee will be presented with the Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2024-25. The report covers the main changes to the Statement of Accounts since the Pensions Committee reviewed the Accounts in July 2025. The report also covers the findings of the external audit and IT audit for the Northamptonshire Pension Fund 2024-25. Grant Thornton's work is substantially complete and their anticipated opinion on the financial statements will be unqualified. Two matters were identified during the audit:

• Investment management expenses: two errors were identified resulting in total variance of £0.4m. The Fund has further investigated the errors and concluded that the management expenses was overstated by £3.6m which has been corrected in account.
• Level 2 and 3 investments: corrected net misstatement of £9.8m was identified during audit, due to estimates used for level 2 and 3 investments.

Administration Strategy

The committee will be asked to approve draft changes to the Administration Strategy. The Administration Strategy is a key document for the Fund setting out a framework for administering the Fund by outlining the policies and performance standards to be achieved by the administering authority and scheme employer. The strategy has been reviewed and updated to align with changes to the main Fund objectives and key performance indicators within the Fund's latest business plan and CIPFA guidance. Wording has been included to be clear to employers that i-Connect does not validate employer data and emphasising the importance of employers having their own quality assurance processes in place. A requirement has been added for employers to pay additional voluntary contributions (AVCs), collected from members to the AVC provider as soon as possible following deduction to avoid loss of investment growth for members.

Administration Report

The committee will receive the Administration Report, which outlines key areas of administration performance for the Northamptonshire Pension Fund, focusing on:

• Administrative Performance
• Business Plan Updates
• Admissions and Cessations
• Risk Monitoring

During the reporting period, a total of 28 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were monitored. 100% of employer contributions for the reporting period were received on time, maintaining a consistent annual compliance rate of 100%. Two new employers have been admitted into the Fund over the reporting period:

• Purgo Supply Services Limited (Preston Hedges Trust)
• TC Facilities Management Limited (Moulton College) One employer has ceased from the Fund:
• Aspens-Services Limited (Huxlow Academy)

Valuation Update

The committee will receive a Valuation Update. This report is exempt from publication.

Investment Pool Update Report

The committee will receive an Investment Pool Update Report. This report is exempt from publication.