Shropshire Council Pension Fund Legal Responsibility

The request was partially successful.

Dear Shropshire Council,

Given that Shropshire Council is the administering authority for SCPF and that responsibility for all decisions in respect of SCPF are delegated to the Pensions Committee, which body has ultimate legal responsibility for the fund?

Yours faithfully,

Kris Welch

Information.Request, Shropshire Council

Dear Ms Welch

Thank you for your enquiry. This question was at Pension Committee on 5 March 2021.

Public questions and recording of Pensions Committee no on line and can be found on the following link

http://shropshire.gov.uk/committee-servi...

Yours sincerely

Information Governance Team
Shropshire Council
Shirehall
Abbey Foregate
SHREWSBURY
SY2 6ND

Telephone: 01743 252179
Email: [Shropshire Council request email]

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Dear Information Request,

Thank you for your reply, I am aware of the question and the response given at Pension Committee on 5 March 2021.

However the response did NOT answer the question, hence this FoI.

Can you please provide me with a direct answer to the question of who has ultimate legal responsibility for the pension fund.

Yours sincerely,

K Welch

Dear Shropshire Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Shropshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Shropshire Council Pension Fund Legal Responsibility'.

I have not received a straight answer to the simple question of which body has legal responsibility for the pension fund. The latest response referred me back to the most recent SCPF meeting and I copy below the exchange from that meeting:

QUESTION:
Who, ultimately, is legally responsible for the Shropshire Council Pension Fund: the
council, the pension committee or another body?

RESPONSE:
Shropshire Council is the Administering Authority for the Shropshire County Pension
Fund. Responsibilities for all decisions in respect of SCPF are delegated to the
Pension Committee.

The question of who has LEGAL responsibility has not been answered, hence I am requesting an internal review of the response given to my FOI.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Ms Welch

Dear Information.Request,

I contacted you on 11th May requesting an internal review of the response to my question.

Please provide me with an update : I understand that I should have received a reply within 20 working days, which is now overdue.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Welch

Information.Request, Shropshire Council

Dear Ms Welch,

I apologise for the delay to confirm the position following your request for a review I can confirm the following:

Shropshire Council is the Administering Authority for the Shropshire County Pension Fund. Responsibilities for all decisions in respect of SCPF are delegated to the Pension Committee. All decisions are delegated to the Pension Committee.

Kind Regards

Tom

Tom Mullen
Information Governance Team
Shropshire Council
Shirehall
Abbey Foregate
Shrewsbury
SY2 6ND

Tel: 01743 252774
Email: [Shropshire Council request email]
Web www.shropshire.gov.uk

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Dear Information Request,

Thank you for your speedy response. Can you please confirm that an internal review was carried out and that the answer provided in your email is therefore considered to fully answer the question of which body has LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY as the reply given does not make this clear to me.

As I am sure you are aware, the FOI Act states that it is "the duty of a public authority to provide advice and assistance, so far as it would be reasonable to expect the authority to do so."

Therefore I would be grateful for a straight answer to the question of which body has legal responsibility, or an explanation of why you are unable to do so.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Welch

Tom Mullen, Shropshire Council

Dear Mrs Welch,

In relation to your request for information and following the email trail below the ICO have contacted us about this and asked us to reconsider our response based on your complaint to them (ICO Reference: IC-113802-Q6J8) Following further internal discussion and review our final response to your FOI questions is as follows:

The Shropshire Council Pension Fund (“the Fund”) is a part of the Local Government Pension Scheme which is established under the Superannuation Act 1972 and regulated by a series of Regulations made under the 1972 Act. These appoint Shropshire Council as the “administering authority” for the Fund. Under the regulations the Secretary of State has the power to intervene in the investment function of an administering authority if the administering authority does not have regard to the Regulations, guidance or if other concerns are raised. This may include changing the ISS and, in the extreme circumstances, the transfer of investment powers to the Secretary of State or another nominated person. To that extent, therefore, Shropshire Council (through its Pensions Committee) is legally responsible for the Fund, as previously advised, but ultimate responsibility rests with the Secretary of State.

Kind Regards

Tom

Tom Mullen
Data Protection Officer
Legal and Democratic Services
Shropshire Council
Shirehall
Abbey Foregate
Shrewsbury
SY2 6ND

Tel: 01743 252774
Email: [email address]
Web www.shropshire.gov.uk

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