Barnet Council has welcomed the Improvement Notice issued by the Pensions Regulator, and will now work with the service provider, Capita, to deliver the required improvements.
Barnet Council welcomes improvement notice
Members of the council’s Policy and Resources Committee recently agreed to allow council officers to focus on service improvement of the Pensions Administration function. The Improvement Notice has set a deadline of 31 August 2019, to ensure there is improvement in the following areas:
- Monitoring of contributions
- Improvements in data quality
- Adequate internal controls in place
A service improvement plan had already been agreed with Capita, which was being scrutinised by Barnet's Local Pensions Board. The Improvement Plan was also shared with The Pensions Regulator. The service improvement plan has delivered some improvements, most notably the significant reduction of data errors from 7,000 to less than 100.
Councillor Dan Thomas, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “We welcome this improvement notice and we’re happy to work with the provider to deliver the required improvements.
“At the same time, we’re leaving nothing to chance. That is why we are also putting in place contingency plans to plan to find an alternative pension fund provider, if these improvements are not made in the time required. We are determined to get things right.”
Council officers will appoint an alternative provider, should the necessary improvements not be made in respect of the pensions fund. The council’s Pensions Fund is currently administered by Capita, as part of its strategic partnership with Barnet Council.