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Assembly Commission |
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Venue: |
Conference Room 4B - Tŷ Hywel |
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Date: |
Thursday, 16 June 2016 |
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Time: |
09.00 - 10.30 |
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Minutes: AC(5)2016(1) |
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Commission Members: |
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Elin Jones AM (Chair) Suzy Davies AM Caroline Jones AM Dai Lloyd AM Joyce Watson AM |
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Officials present: |
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Claire Clancy, Chief Executive & Clerk of the Assembly Craig Stephenson, Director of Commission Services Gwion Evans, Head of Presiding Officer's Private Office
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Others in attendance: |
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1 Introduction
1.1 Introduction and apologies
There were no apologies.
1.2 Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest.
2 Assembly Commission governance and procedure
Commissioners considered documents which set out the overarching framework principles for the governance of the organisation, the rules for conduct of Commission meetings and the delegation of functions to the Chief Executive.
The Commission agreed updated Governance Principles and Supporting Provisions which had been developed in line with the Corporate Governance Code of Good Practice published by HM Treasury and the Financial Reporting Council’s UK Corporate Governance Code, taking account of the status of the Commission as a body corporate with a “governing board” consisting wholly of elected Members.
The rules for the conduct of Commission business were formally adopted by the Assembly Commission.
Commissioners considered the draft Instruments of delegation of Commission functions and arrangements for the exercise of the Clerk’s functions. They gave particular consideration to the appropriate level authorised for capital expenditure, and having sought assurance that detail of significant expenditure will continue to be set out as part of the budget process, agreed a figure of £5 million for projects or contracts. This reflects the movement in the level of delegations over the last 10 years, and is in line with the delegation in the parliamentary bodies in both Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Commission agreed that the contents of the paper should be published.
3 Assembly Commission portfolios
The Commission is corporately responsible for the exercise of the functions conferred upon it and for the governance of the organisation.
Commissioners considered the governance principles which provide that the Commission may allocate responsibility for oversight of a defined range of organisational work to an individual Commissioner. They concluded that the creation of Commissioner portfolios would provide each Commissioner the opportunity to build up their knowledge in particular areas and to work with officials to provide strategic direction on a more regular and thorough basis than Commission meetings alone would allow.
Portfolios were agreed as follows:
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Communications and engagement |
Elin Jones AM, Llywydd |
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Budget and governance, including Audit and Risk Assurance Committee membership. |
Suzy Davies AM |
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Equalities, and the Commission as the employer of Assembly staff. |
Joyce Watson AM |
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Official languages, and delivery and transformation of services to Members. |
Dai Lloyd AM |
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Security and Assembly resources. |
Caroline Jones AM |
4 Assembly Members' Pension Scheme - Board Representatives
The Remuneration Board has responsibility for the Members’ Pension Scheme and introduced a new scheme from May 2016. In November 2015, the Commissioner agreed that the Accounting Officer should be responsible, in consultation with Commissioners, for identifying and nominating the Commission representatives to the new Pensions Board.
Commissioners considered the Accounting Officer’s recommendations for the Commission representatives and agreed that they should be the Director of Finance and Suzy Davies AM.
Other members of the Board will be Jill Youds, who has been appointed as the Independent Trustee Chair, Mike Hedges (current AM, Labour) and Gareth Jones (former AM, Plaid Cymru).
5 Assembly Commission legacy report
The legacy report of the Assembly Commission 2011-16 had been agreed and published earlier this year. Commissioners noted the report and agreed it would form a useful starting point for their own considerations, particularly with regard to the development of the Commission Strategy.
6 Any other business
No other business was raised.