Martin Jenkins Meeting Note
Meeting with Martin Jenkins Partner at DWF and UK Head of Pensions 9th November 2011
1. Halcrow pensioners can come together to form a group comprising any number, in the form of a loose unincorporated association, for the purposes of taking future action.
2. Further action may involve Court action or the threat of it, or of lobbying to put pressure on the Regulator or the HPS Trustees. The Group may wish to publish the results of the above in the Press or to take a Court Action to hold the Trustees to account.
3. The Regulator has a duty of care and can be asked to explain his actions. The Regulator has the power to bring the whole of the CH2M group in the USA into accountability for restoring funding to the HPS if the funding is insufficient.
4. The test is to look at the position of the HPS before and after take-over to see if CH2M obtained an advantage from the Halcrow Group at the expense of the HPS. The banks will not continue to lend money to the Halcrow Group in circumstances in which the trade is conducted with an advantage to CH2M rather than to Halcrow and the HPS stands as a creditor along with the bank. It was noted that the Trustees say that part of the transaction is for CH2M to repay the bank. If Halcrow staff and Offices were transferred to CH2M at no cost this would be an advantage to CH2M and disadvantage to the HPS.
5. We should try to get a copy of the Trustee’s Rules for the HPS to see if it gives any guidance on how the trustees are to manage any Conflicts of Interest. Did the trustees take advice on all matters? The trustees have a duty to act solely in the interests of the HPS and this becomes more difficult if trustees have an interest in the outcome. If all directors have a stake in the outcome they cannot make decisions. In these circumstances the trustees would need to form a sub-committee or appoint temporary trustees to prove they had acted solely in the interests of HPS. A lawyer could be commissioned to find out whether the rules had been breached. The possibility that a lawyer may give instructions to a QC to take an action for breach of trust can be a powerful influence on getting the Trustee’s on side. If the trustees of the HPS are unhappy with some of the events the Regulator can take action more easily and with less risk. The Regulator has a duty to protect the government Pension Protection Fund.
6. If the trustees have taken Legal Advice we should ask to have sight of the advice, what is the legal case preventing the trustees from asking for a contribution to be made to the HPS?
7. The Association needs to find a single person with the tenacity to ask questions and get answer’s or take matters further. The Association should communicate and attract support from members (Facebook, Google+?). MJ said he could provide sample questions to give the Trustee’s. MJ would like us to refer back once replies to questions are received.