The Scheme operates as a pension trust and responsibility for its management lies with the Scheme’s Trustee. The Trustee is Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme Trustees Limited (CSSTL). The eight directors of CSSTL form the Scheme’s Committee of Management. Four members of the Committee are appointed by the Committee itself and four are Pensioner Representatives elected by Scheme members from four geographical constituencies.

The period of office for Pensioner Representatives was until recently three years, with elections  staggered so that there were elections in two of the four constituencies at intervals of 18 months. After summer 2008 we are moving to one election each year in consecutive constituencies with a term of office of four years. Under transitional arrangements, two constituencies currently have terms of office of less than three years and one constituency currently has a term of office of three and a half years, however, by the end of 2011 all elected Trustees will have four year terms of office.

The process for the appointment of new Committee members who are not Pensioner Representatives is now set into the trustee company’s articles of Association. Broadly speaking, a position will be advertised in the pensions press, and a Nomination Committee comprising the Scheme Chairman, one other appointed trustee and two Pensioner Representatives is formed. This Nomination Committee will look for a candidate whose skills complement the Committee of Management and hence make the Committee the most effective. The Nomination Committee would then interview a number of candidates and recommend a single candidate to the full Committee of Management. The Committee as a whole will review the recommended candidate and make the final appointment.   

The appointment of the Chairman of the Committee of Management and the Chairman of the Investment Sub-committee is subject to the approval of the Guarantor. The Trustees are paid for their work as members of the Committee. Details of the fees payable are contained in the Scheme’s Annual Report and Accounts.

The Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform – BERR (formerly the DTI) will still set the terms of the appointment – although we expect these will be in general rather than specifically for each appointment. These would cover the maximum period of each term of appointment, normally three years, and the rate of remuneration, although the Committee will be consulted and will be able to determine the rate of remuneration of the Committee Chairman and the Chairman of the Investment Sub-committee. Both the BERR and the Committee will have the right to remove a trustee in certain circumstances.

The Role of the Trustees

For convenience, members of the Committee of Management are usually referred to as “the Trustees”. Regardless of whether Trustees are appointed or elected, each of them has a duty to consider the interests of all members and beneficiaries. They do not represent the interests of pensioners, deferred members or indeed the Guarantor to any extent greater than other interests in the Scheme.

The Trustees are responsible for the financial management of the Scheme, including investing the Scheme’s funds, and for ensuring that benefits are paid in accordance with the Rules of the Scheme. The duties and powers of the Trustees are set out in the Scheme and Rules. The Scheme and Rules was substantially amended in 1994 to provide for new management arrangements which were put in place as a consequence of the privatisation of British Coal. These new arrangements took effect from 31 October 1994 when most of the functions of British Coal in respect of the Scheme were transferred to the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (previously the Department of Trade and Industry) who acts as Guarantor to the Scheme.

Appointed Trustees

Philip Read is Chairman of the Committee of Management. He is an actuary and UK Pensions Manager for CarnaudMetalbox Group (IK) Limited. Philip is also a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute.		Heather McGuire is Chairman of the Administration and Benefits Sub-committee. She is an independent professional trustee working for BESTrustees. Heather is also a Fellow of the Pensions Management Institute.
Ray Proctor is Chairman of the Discretions and Appeals Sub-committee. Ray was formerly Finance Director for British Coal, and Chairman of a number of subsidiary companies.		Current vacancy

The Pensioner Representative Trustees

Stuart Jukes is the Representative Trustee for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. He was formerly a Superannuation Officer of BCSSS.		Bleddyn Hancock is the Representative Trustee for North West England, West Midlands, Wales and Northern Ireland. He is the Vice President of NACODS South Wales.
Allen Clark is the Representative Trustee for North East of England and Scotland. He was formerly the Deputy Manager at Wearmouth Colliery.		Bob Chappell is the Representative Trustee for East Midlands, Southern England and overseas pensioners. He was formerly the Treasurer for BACM, and a Scientist with British Coal.

Sub-committees of the Trustee

The Committee of Management is responsible for the overall management of the Scheme; it has a regular quarterly meeting and usually meets on other occasions throughout the year. To help perform its duties and to streamline decision making, the Committee has established and delegated certain of its powers to a number of Sub-committees. Sub-committees have an equal number of elected and appointed Trustees.

The principal Sub-committees are as follows:

	The Administration and Benefits Sub-committee deals with the administration of the scheme, and determines the detail of benefits policy. Monitoring the performance of the administrator is a key aspect of their duties. Current members are: Heather McGuire (Chair), Ray Proctor, Stuart Jukes and Allen Clark.
	The Investment Sub-committee helps to shape strategy for the Committee and it monitors the implementation of the Scheme’s investment strategy by its investment managers and monitors the performance of each investment manager. Present members are Mr Read (Chair), Dr Chappell, Mr Hancock and Mr Proctor. In addition there are two non-voting members of the Investment Sub-committee who have been co-opted to assist with the highly specialised work involved.
	The Discretions and Appeals Sub-committee meets to hear and determine cases that require the trustees to exercise their discretionary powers under the Scheme Rules, and to consider complaints made under the second stage of the Scheme’s internal dispute resolution procedure. Present members are Ray Proctor (Chair), Allen Clark, Heather McGuire and Bleddyn Hancock.