Meetings

1.     

2.     

2.1.    The Chair welcomed Professor Roger Awan-Scully and Dr Huw Pritchard, who were representing the Wales Governance Centre’s research team for the review, to the meeting. Apologies were received from Dr Diana Stirbu who had been scheduled to discuss the report via video conference, but due to unforeseen technical problems wasn’t able to participate.

2.2.    The Board discussed the report with the research team.

2.3.    During its private consideration of the report the Board considered the next steps of the review.

Action points

The secretariat to seek the views of the research team with regards to the Board’s proposed next steps.

1.     

2.     

3.     

3.1.    The Board noted, that in light of the recent industrial action and the adverse weather conditions, representatives from the Wales Governance Centre were unable to attend the meeting to discuss the report. 

3.2.    The Board considered the report and agreed to invite representatives from the Wales Governance Centre to its meeting in May to discuss the next steps of the review.

Action point:

The secretariat to invite representatives from the Wales Governance Centre to its meeting in May.

1          

2          

3          

3.1         The Chair welcomed Dr Huw Pritchard, who was representing the Wales Governance Centre, to the meeting. Apologies had been received from Dr Diana Stribu.

3.2         The Chair invited Dr Pritchard to provide an overview of the draft report to the Board and to respond to the points of clarification raised by the Board. Dr Pritchard agreed to respond to further points of clarification via email.

3.3         The Board agreed to consider how it would respond to the recommendation in the report at its March meeting.

3.4         Both Dr Pritchard and the Board agreed to discuss the publication and dissemination strategy at a later date.

Action point:

The secretariat to be the point of contact between the Board and the Wales Governance Centre with regards to any points of clarification raised.

1.1 The Chair welcomed Dr Huw Pritchard, Dr Diana Stribu and Naomi White to the meeting. The Chair reminded the Board that all three were representing the Wales Governance Centre which was successfully awarded the tender to conduct the review on behalf of the Board.

1.2 The Chair invited the delegation to update the Board on the work they had undertaken to date and outline its next steps on the review into identifying barriers to and incentives for standing for election to the National Assembly for Wales.

3.1 Dame Jane Roberts reiterated her declaration of interest. Board members were content there was no conflict of interest and for Jane to participate in this item.

3.2 The Chair provided an update to the Board on the tender process. The Board agreed with the next steps for the piece of work including agreeing the successful tender outside of the formal meeting.

3.3 The Board commended the research summary provided to them by the National Assembly’s Research Service.

Action Points:

·         The Secretariat to work with the successful tender to ensure their proposals and timeframes complements the Board’s forward work programme.

2.1 The Board considered a paper which outlined the parameters of the review into identifying barriers and incentives to running for election to the National Assembly for Wales, in particular the exercise to tender research into the field.

2.2 The Board agreed to seek a summary of the research which has already been undertaken into identifying barriers and incentives to running for election.

2.3 The Board agreed to embark on a procurement exercise to identify the incentives and barriers for anyone wishing to run for election to the Assembly. They also agreed the:

·         scope of the exercise should be on the remuneration package which is within its remit;

·         tender should be sent directly to a number of potential candidates and published on the Assembly’s websites;

·         application and interview process; and

·         successful candidate would need to provide the Board with detailed methodology of their proposed review and provide an overview of the work they have conducted at an appropriate time of the review.

Action points:

·         The Secretariat to prepare a summary of previous research undertaken in the field.

·         The Secretariat to amend the tender documents as agreed by the Board and issue accordingly.

·         The Board agreed that Jane would take the lead on this issue. The Board also agreed it would consider and agree the final tender document, the list of invitees to issue the tender to, the shortlist to invite to interview and the successful applicant outside the Board meeting.

5.1 The Board considered a paper which outlined the proposed scope of the exercise to conduct research in 2017 into identifying barriers and incentives to entering the National Assembly for Wales to inform the Board’s decisions for the Determination in the Sixth Assembly.

5.2 At its strategy day, the Board nominated Jane Roberts to lead on this strand of work. The Chair invited her to introduce the scoping paper.

5.3 The Board agreed the scope of its work, taking account of the remit of the Board, and agreed to commission an external provider to conduct the research.

5.4 The Board would consider a paper outlining the parameters of the tender exercise for consideration at its meeting in January.

Action point:

• The Secretariat to prepare a paper outlining the parameters of the research into barriers and incentives for running for election to the National Assembly for Wales.