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The Assembly Commission |
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Meeting Venue: |
Presiding Officer’s office, 4th floor - Tŷ Hywel |
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Meeting date: |
Wednesday, 26 March 2014 |
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Meeting time: |
11.30 - 13.00 |
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Minutes: AC(4)2014(4) |
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Committee Members: |
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Dame Rosemary Butler AM (Chair) Peter Black AM Sandy Mewies AM Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM |
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Officials present: |
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Claire Clancy, Chief Executive & Clerk of the Assembly (Official) Dave Tosh, Director of Information and Communications Technology (Official) Anna Daniel, Clerk of the Business Committee (Official) Craig Stephenson, Chief Adviser to the Presiding Officer (Official) Carys Evans, Principal Commission Secretary (Official)
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Others in attendance: |
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David Melding AM, Deputy Presiding Officer
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1 Introduction
1(i) Introduction and apologies
Angela Burns AM had sent her apologies.
1(ii) Declarations of interest
There were no declarations of interest.
1(iii) Minutes of the previous meeting
The minutes of the 6 March meeting were agreed.
2 Future ICT Services Project Report
In 2012 the Commission had undertaken a strategic review of future provision of ICT services. In December 2012 the Assembly Commission took the decision to move to an in-house, Commission-managed, ICT service and not to extend the existing contract with the provider Atos. Commissioners had agreed that it this should be achieved without increasing the annual budget for ICT services.
Since then, a significant amount of work had been carried out to prepare for the transition, overseen throughout by the Commission. The project had been delivered well within its time frame and budget. Strong assurances had been given by KPMG, as external auditors. A skilled in-house team was now in place to complete the transition and implement the Commission’s ICT Strategy. As outlined in the business case for the transition, the new arrangements would provide cost savings, which would be re-invested and a more flexible service to meet the needs of users.
Commissioners agreed unanimously that the transfer of responsibility should take place on 7 April 2014.
Dave Tosh confirmed that adequate staffing arrangements were in place to ensure that the transition was as smooth as possible and to minimise the impact during the transition period. Service users would be able to contact members of the ICT team to discuss any queries they had or issues that might arise.
The new arrangements would ensure that bilingual staff or providers were engaged to work on the Assembly estate and with constituency offices.
All Commissioners congratulated the ICT team on their tremendous work in successfully completing this complex project that would deliver financial savings and enable the Assembly to become a world-leader in the use of ICT.
3 Future provision of ICT in the Siambr
The ICT facilities available to Members in the Siambr had been in place since the Senedd opened. Although the provision of such facilities was distinct and unusual compared with other Parliaments and Assemblies, other than a hardware refresh, the ‘fixed’ nature of the facilities had remained unchanged. Commissioners agreed that, as many of the facilities within the Siambr would require updating over the next two years, they should consider the options available to them to provide the best possible provision for Members.
The Commission’s ICT strategy would mean a move to mobile solutions and wireless networking to offer a more flexible, less intrusive and future-proofed solution to accessing information. Changing the arrangements could bring a range of new opportunities to provide a better working environment for Members, whilst also enabling new innovative practices to be introduced.
It was noted that:
· Members work differently and any solutions would need to take account of this;
· a Siambr messaging facility should be retained;
· options for confirming to individual Members how they voted should be explored, but that it would not be appropriate for the full screen of live information on how each Member was voting to be displayed to all;
· there remained inconsistencies with the quality of the sound in the Siambr; and
· there may also be scope for enhancements in the public gallery.
A number of options were available. Commissioners agreed that a consultation should be carried out with Members, collecting the views of groups and individuals, to inform the Commission’s decisions on future provision. Commissioners noted that while seeking the views of users was essential, ultimately they would need to make the best decisions for the future.
It was agreed that, where possible, changes should be made incrementally and with pace so that the benefits could be realised quickly.
4 Any other business
Adrian Crompton (Director of Assembly Business) would be taking up a secondment in Egypt to help prepare for the parliamentary elections and support the early days of the new Egyptian Parliament. Commissioners noted that Dave Tosh would become interim Director of ICT and Assembly Business during Adrian’s absence and that temporary changes would be made at Management Board level during this time.
Rhodri Glyn Thomas indicated that he had received positive feedback from Members, staff and external stakeholders about the Microsoft Translator facility.
On 3 April Commissioners would hold a strategy meeting to discuss their priorities for the remainder of the Fourth Assembly.
Secretariat
March 2014