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Panel Membership and Terms of Reference

Current Panel Membership

The Panel members are:

Bob Summers (Chairman) - Independent
Douglas Anderson - Hymans Robertson
Ian Coleman - Wirral Council
Terry Crossley - DCLG
Terry Edwards - LGE Pensions Committee
John Hattersley - South Yorkshire Pension Fund
Bob Holloway - DCLG
Paul Kent - Dorset County Council
Nicola Mark - Norfolk Pension Fund
Richard McIndoe - Glasgow Council
Graeme Russell - Torfaen Borough Council
Trevor Salmon - Belfast City Council
Neil Sellstrom - CIPFA Pensions Network
Mike Taylor - London Pension Funds Authority
Sue Timbrell - Law Debenture
Andrea White - Audit Commission

Technical Briefing and Support

Nigel Keogh - (Secretary) CIPFA
Matthew Allen – (Policy Support Officer) CIPFA

The role and operational terms of reference for the CIPFA Pensions Panel

The CIPFA Pensions Panel is a functional, cross-sectoral Panel that reports to CIPFA’s Public Finance and Management Board (PFMB).

The PFMB has laid down generic terms of reference for all of the Panels for which it is responsible. These are set out below:

1) Support the continuous improvement of standards in public finance, management and governance, particularly in UK local government where the Institute has formal standard setting responsibilities through:

Anticipating, influencing, monitoring and responding to finance and policy issues;
Institute policy formulation and implementation;
Approval (by the Chair where necessary) of Institute responses to Government, professional bodies’ and other bodies’ consultation/discussion papers and exposure drafts;
Development, promotion and maintenance of best practice, standards and guidelines in accordance with the scheme for institute pronouncements;
Production and dissemination of relevant advice and material on issues falling within the Panel’s defined areas of responsibility.

2) Generate ideas and opportunities for services and products which CIPFA may develop and deliver to help to improve public service organisations.

3) Develop strong institutional relationships with Government and other relevant bodies to enable the accountancy profession to work in a more efficient way and to present its views more effectively.

4) Deliver the Panel objectives through:

Taking a five centres of government perspective;
Input to the formulation of panel work plans (and hence CIPFA business plans), monitoring delivery of the work programme and reporting performance to PFMB;
Monitoring and input to the work of other relevant sectoral or functional/ cross-cutting Panels, as appropriate, on matters of mutual interest;
Working closely with the Local Government Policy Panel.

5) Contribute to ensuring that advice, guidance and services successfully developed in one sector or jurisdiction are suitably tailored and systematically made available to others both across the UK and RoI public services, and internationally.

6) Maintain and further develop our position of authority and influence in the accountancy profession at both the national and global levels.

The Pensions Panel focuses in particular on the following issues in so far as they impact upon public service pensions and advises other CIPFA Panels and Networks on these issues in so far as they relate to pensions:

Accounting and auditing
Reporting and disclosure
Pension scheme/fund management
Scheme governance
Changes to the regulatory environment

The Panel meets 2 to 4 times per year and is supported by a Technical Manager from the CIPFA Secretariat.

Quorum requirements

Panels should have the following quorum requirements:

A quorum is 50% of the panel members. This is required for formal approval of bulletins, guidance and other Institute material. Electronic and paper correspondence from panel members, and presence via teleconference may all be counted towards the 50% quorum.

Non-quorate meetings may discuss and formally note matters for future report, but have no executive authority.

Urgent decisions, at the Chair’s discretion, should be dealt with by correspondence.

Panel Appointments

Panel membership vacancies are advertised openly and are aimed at CIPFA members. Whilst preference is given to Institute members, non-members may be appointed from key stakeholder organisations where required. Where there is more than one suitable candidate for any given vacancy, the Chair and Panel Secretary may conduct informal interviews with candidates.

Panel members are appointed for an initial period of three years, which may be renewed by agreement of both parties.

The Panel seeks to have representation from the five centres of government, normally nominated through the relevant CIPFA office i.e. Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Republic of Ireland and England.

(Updated 16 March 2010)