The London Borough of Barnet has become the latest employer to receive a fine from The Pensions Regulator (TPR).
The public service pension scheme was fined £1,000 for failing to provide basic information, such as number of members and participating employers, contact details and information about its pensions board.
Nicola Parish, TPR’s Executive Director of Frontline Regulation, explained that it is the legal responsibility of trustees and managers to submit a scheme return by the deadline and that TPR requires the information so that it can carry out its role effectively. “We are also concerned if it is not submitted, as this may signal further problems within the administration of the scheme,” she said.
“We have shown that where managers and trustees are failing with their basic duties, including in large public service schemes such as this one, we will use our powers to intervene,” said Parish.
A scheme notice was issued to Barnet Council on 9 July 2016, requesting a return by 12 August. However, this was not received and further communications were not replied to. The matter was referred to TPR’s Determinations Panel on 24 February 2017.
The penalty notice was issued to the Council, as scheme manager, on 13 April and paid on 9 June. As a scheme return was not submitted, a TPR case team is continuing to engage with authority staff to discuss the scheme’s future governance and administration.
