The agenda for the Pensions Fund Committee meeting of West Northamptonshire Council included a review of governance and compliance, the approval of the final statement of accounts, and a discussion of the fund's administration strategy. The committee was also scheduled to discuss conflicts of interest, receive an update on pension dashboards, and review the effectiveness of the committee itself.

Statement of Accounts

The committee was scheduled to review the final Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2024-25. The report covered the main changes to the statement since the committee reviewed the accounts in July 2025, and which had been approved by the Audit and Governance Committee in November 2025. The report also covered the findings of the external audit and IT audit for the Northamptonshire Pension Fund 2024-25. According to the report, Grant Thornton's work was substantially complete, and their anticipated opinion on the financial statements would be unqualified. The report noted two matters identified during the audit:

• Two errors were identified in investment management expenses, resulting in a total variance of £0.4 million. Further investigation by the Fund concluded that management expenses were overstated by £3.6 million, which has been corrected in the account.
• A corrected net misstatement of £9.8 million was identified during the audit of level 2 and 3 investments, due to estimates used for these investments.

The committee was asked to note the final Statement of Accounts, and the findings of the external audit.

Governance and Compliance

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Governance and Compliance Report, which identifies issues and developments relevant to West Northamptonshire Council's management and administration of the Northamptonshire Pension Fund. The report provided information on:

• LGPS England and Wales
• Pension Dashboards
• Scheme Advisory Board
• The Pensions Regulator
• Wider landscape
• Skills and knowledge opportunities

The report also provided details of immaterial amendments made to policies or strategies as a result of officer reviews. The committee was asked to note the Governance and Compliance Report.

Conflicts of Interest Policy

The committee was scheduled to consider proposed updates to the Conflicts of Interest Policy. The Conflicts of Interest 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, whether directly or in an advisory capacity. The Pension Committee approved a comprehensive Conflicts of Interest Policy in December 2022, and since this time, two officer reviews have been undertaken. In line with the policy approval schedule, a full committee review was due. The policy applies to all members of the Pension Fund Committee, members of the Local Pension Board, the Chief Financial Officer (Section 151 officer), and all advisers and suppliers to the Fund. One of the proposed amendments to the policy was scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2026, in light of the Administering Authority's planned transition from the ACCESS asset pool to Border to Coast. The committee was asked to approve the updated Northamptonshire Pension Fund Conflicts of Interest Policy, and to pre-approve updates to the policy once the transition from ACCESS to Border to Coast has concluded.

Administration Strategy

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Northamptonshire Pension Fund Administration Strategy Review. The Administration Strategy sets 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. Key risks have also been updated to reflect the latest version of the risk register. The strategy was also updated to clarify that i-Connect does not validate employer data, and to emphasise 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. The Fund's policy and escalation processes for dealing with data queries has been updated to reflect latest practice. The committee was asked to approve the draft changes to the Administration Strategy.

Pension Dashboards Update

The committee was scheduled to receive a 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 report stated that 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. The committee was asked to note the contents of the report.

Effectiveness Review

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Northamptonshire Pension Fund Committee Effectiveness Review. The report contained the results of the effectiveness review undertaken by board members during August and September 2025. 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

The results demonstrated that the committee overall are effective, with the majority of questions receiving agree or strongly agree ratings. An update on the 2024 Effectiveness Review Action Plan stated that all actions identified have been completed. The committee was asked to note the feedback provided, approve the comments and proposed course of actions to improve the effectiveness of the committee in the areas identified, and note the progress against the actions identified as part of the 2024 effectiveness review exercise.

Administration Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the Administration Report, which provides an update on:

• Administrative performance, including performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and contribution monitoring.
• Progress made on Business Plan key activities and the budget position
• Updates to the Fund's Risk Register.
• The Fund's admissions and cessations for the reporting period.

During the reporting period, 61% of KPIs were rated Green, 21% Amber, and 18% Red, indicating overall less than desired performance levels. Additional staff were reassigned to the Operations team from late September to mid-November to improve turnaround times across retirement and estimate casework. 100% of employer contributions for the reporting period were received on time, maintaining a consistent annual compliance rate of 100%. No new material breaches or data breaches were reported during the period.

1. 2% of active annual benefit statements and 0.6% of deferred annual benefit statements were not issued prior to 31 August 2025. During the reporting period, no new stage 1 or stage 2 Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP) cases have been received. One business plan activity has a RAG status of amber, with the remaining activities being green. Two new activities have been added to the business plan. Two new employers have been admitted into the Fund over the reporting period, and one employer ceased from the Fund. Three new mitigations have been added to the risk register, and two mitigations have been updated.

The committee was asked to note the contents of the report, the admission of Purgo Supply Services Limited (Preston Hedges Trust) and TC Facilities Management Limited (Moulton College), and the cessation of Aspens-Services Limited (Huxlow Academy) from the Northamptonshire Pension Fund, and to review the Risk Register.

Exempt Items

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Valuation Update and Investment Pool Update Report in private, due to the inclusion of exempt information as defined in the Local Government Act 1972.