Meetings

The Commission is corporately responsible for the exercise of the functions conferred upon it and for the governance of the organisation. The Commissioners have collective responsibility for decisions and have equal status in discussions. 

As the Commission may allocate responsibility for oversight of a defined range of organisational work to an individual Commissioner, Commissioners agreed the following portfolios:

The portfolio information will be published to the Senedd website for transparency.

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:

Paper 5

The Commissioners gave an update on issues relating to their respective portfolios.

Provide outstanding parliamentary support

The following activities are underway: developing the use of XML technology for Plenary proceedings, developing an App for the Assembly, extending wireless facilities throughout the estate.

Use resources wisely

Commissioners heard an update on the Independent Remuneration Board’s review of staffing for Assembly Members and the review of Assembly Members’ pension arrangements.

Paper 7

Commissioners considered their portfolios following the first year of operation and agreed to the changes in the proposed in the paper, subject to one amendment. Sandy Mewies AM will take responsibility for Assembly Facilities whilst Peter Black AM will retain responsibility for the Assembly Estate because of the links to sustainability.

The following items were discussed:

Services to Members

In response to feedback from Assembly Members, Commission officials will be undertaking a survey of the services provided to Members to help identify areas for improvement. John Chick, Head of Members Business Support, will lead on this work.

Audit

The Commission agreed that it would receive regular reports from the Audit Committee so that all Commissioners are aware of the important work being done by the Audit Committee. It was agreed that it would be included on the agenda for appropriate Commission meetings.

Assembly Shop

The Assembly Shop will be moved to the Café area in the Senedd by Easter 2012. Work is underway to improve signage, to make the area comfortable and attractive, and to identify goods to be sold in the shop. It was agreed that training of staff would also be important.

Official Language Bill

The National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Bill is currently being considered by the Communities, Equalities and Local Government Committee.

Outreach and Events

A number of high profile events have been held on the Assembly estate in recent weeks, which have been very well received.

A presentation on the engagement work being done by the Outreach team will be arranged for a future Commission meeting.

Pay negotiations

Pay negotiations are currently underway for Commission employees.

Commissioner Portfolios

It was agreed that the distribution of work across portfolios would be clarified and, as and where appropriate, adjusted to reflect experiences in the first year.

Commissioners provided an update on activities within their portfolios.

Sandy Mewies AM, Commissioner with responsibility for equalities, said that she would be working with the Equalities Team on the development of the Commission’s equalities scheme and the Access Fund for Members.

All Commissioners commented on the feedback they had received from Members and their staff in relation to ICT problems and agreed that it was not acceptable that the problems had persisted over such a lengthy period. Peter Black explained that a meeting had been held at senior level with BT who had given assurances that the broadband problems, which had been UK-wide, would be resolved within about 10 days. Other problems should be resolved once the move to UNO Version 2 (V2) had been completed for everyone, with subsequent fixes for the casework system. If problems remain following these solutions, officials were asked to escalate the complaint, working with the Welsh Government.

Commissioners provided an update on activities within their portfolios.

As Commissioner with responsibility for budgets and governance, Angela Burns updated the Commission on the Finance Committee’s report on the Commission’s draft budget.  The Commission agreed their response to the Committee’s recommendations, including to phase the planned budget increases over three years.

Other Commissioners also gave an update on their portfolios.

The Presiding Officer outlined the proposed portfolio approach, in which each Commissioner would take a particular interest in an area of the Commission’s work.  The Commission noted that this would give 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.  Portfolio holders would hold regular meetings with lead officials and have periodic discussions with the Presiding Officer to report to her on progress.

The Commission discussed the composition of each portfolio, and agreed that portfolio responsibilities should be allocated as follows:

In addition, the Commission agreed that the Deputy Presiding Officer should focus on areas which complement his other duties, including constitutional affairs, Assembly business, the Pierhead as a centre for Assembly development and debate, and links with the Wales Governance Centre.

The Commission agreed that an email should be sent to Members by the Presiding Officer to publicise Commissioners’ portfolio responsibilities.