Comisiwn y Cynulliad
Assembly Commission
NAFWC
2012
Minutes of 12 July 2012 meeting
Date:
12 July 2012
Time: 11:00 – 12:30
Venue: Office of the Presiding Officer
Present:
Presiding Officer, Chair
Peter Black AM
Angela Burns AM
Sandy Mewies AM
Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM
Officials
present:
Claire Clancy, Chief Executive and Clerk
Craig Stephenson, Head of Commission and Member Support Service
Steve O’Donoghue, Head of Assembly Resources and Director of Finance (items 2 and 3)
Nicola Callow, Head of Finance (items 2 and 3)
Ross Davies, Equalities Manager (item 4)
Carys Evans, Principal Commission Secretary
Others:
David Melding AM, Deputy Presiding Officer
Mair Barnes, Independent Adviser
1. Chair’s introduction
Dianne Bevan, Chief Operating Officer, will retire at the end of this Assembly term. Commissioners wished Dianne well for her retirement and expressed their thanks for her contribution to the work of the Assembly.
Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest.
2. Draft Budget 2013-14
Commissioners confirmed again their commitment to working within the 2013-14 indicative funding set out in the previous year’s budget document.
The Commission is due to agree the budget at its meeting on 27 September, before it is laid before the Assembly on 28 September.
Commissioners commented on the working document and thanked officials for their ongoing work on the 2013-14 budget.
Actions: Officials will continue to work on the budget document over the summer recess, incorporating the issues discussed at the meeting.
3. Assembly Commission Audit Committee Annual Report
The Annual Report of the Assembly Commission Audit Committee for the financial year 2011-12 was presented to the Commission to note. The Audit Committee is required to provide the Commission and Accounting Officer with an Annual Report summarising its work within the year, at the same time as the annual accounts of the Commission are laid before the Assembly.
The report records the fact that the Committee considers that overall assurance levels within the Commission are good and notes that there is scope for further improvement in some areas and for greater efficiency in the exercise and management of controls. The Committee will continue to pay attention to these areas in 2012-13 and ensure that the internal audit programme supports this.
Commissioners noted the report.
Claire Clancy gave a verbal briefing following the Audit Committee meeting on 5 July and confirmed that the Audit Committee had recommended that the Commission’s annual accounts should be signed by her as Accounting Officer. This had been done and it was expected that they would be signed by the Auditor General for Wales and laid within the next few days.
4. Annual Equality Report 2011-12
The Assembly Commission produces an Annual Equality Report which provides an update on progress made on actions set out in the Equality Scheme 2008-2012. The report provides an overview of the work Commission staff have undertaken to promote equality from January 2011 to March 2012.
Highlights include promoting democratic engagement through the ‘Vote 2011’ campaign; developing ways of engaging with a range of diverse groups across Wales; supporting staff networks; being ranked 20th in Stonewall’s workplace Equality index 2012; hosting a range of events and exhibitions by diverse groups and developing factsheets to inform Members of their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
Commissioners commended the work of the Equalities Team and noted the numerous achievements during the reporting period.
It was agreed that the some changes would be made to the report, including highlighting the most significant achievements more clearly and reducing the overall length of the document, prior to its publication.
5. Rolling Programme
The next meeting of the Commission will take place on Thursday 27 September. Agenda items will include the Draft Budget 2013-14
6. Any other business
Commissioners will hold an informal meeting on 2 August.
Claire Clancy agreed to circulate recent correspondence with Atos to the Commissioners.
Secretariat
July 2012