The
Cabinet Member for Environmental Services introduced the item and
stated that four employees currently employed by Biffa Municipal
Ltd, originally employed by the Council, would transfer to SUEZ
Recycling and Recovery UK in March as part of the Mid Kent waste
contract change. For the four employees to retain their pension
rights, SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK would need to become an
Admission Body for the Local Government Pension Fund (LGPS), and
Maidstone and Ashford Borough Councils would need to provide a
pension guarantee of £383,000 to the Kent Pension Fund to
protect the employees from a shortfall.
The
Committee enquired about how the pension guarantee would be
monitored and the Head of Environmental Services and Waste
Management stated that protections were in place in the waste
contract, that SUEZ would provide data and information on its
contributions to the LGPS and the same practice had been
implemented with Biffa without issue.
The
Committee agreed that the £383,000 was an appropriate
provision to the Kent Pension Fund and recommended that it be
agreed to the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services.
RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the CABINET
MEMBER:
That
the provision of a guarantee to the total value of £383k to
the Kent Pension Fund in partnership with Ashford Borough Council
be approved.