Meetings

Claire Clancy introduced paper four, highlighting that successful communications between the Commission and Members needed to be two way, in order to build a better understanding among Members of the work of the Commission and the services it provides, but also to ensure that staff understand more clearly the roles of Members and the pressures they face, in order that services can be designed and focused more effectively.

The Commission noted the communication and engagement activities that were undertaken during the Third Assembly, and the improvements that were planned for the Fourth Assembly.  The Chief Executive’s monthly update would continue, but would be more forward looking in order to help ensure that Members were informed about issues that the Commission would be considering or upcoming consultations.  The Commission noted that the new Head of Member Liaison and Professional Development would be providing support to Commissioners and Members in order to assist with communication and engagement, and that relevant officials would be happy to attend Group meetings to communicate and clarify decisions of the Commission.  The Commission decided that a general Assembly Member reference group was not currently the right vehicle for consultation, but that, if needed, functional groups would be set up to consider particular issues or large projects.  The Support Staff advisory group, consisting of Party Group managers would continue, as the Commission was of the view that this was a valuable line of communication which drew on Support Staff experience to help to test proposals.

The Commission agreed that the Chief Executive and Clerk should continue to meet with Opposition Party Leaders on a regular basis to discuss current and ongoing issues, and asked that she approach the Government Chief Whip to arrange equivalent meetings.

The Commission discussed the communication of its meeting papers and decisions, and agreed that Member briefing sheets should be made fuller and be distributed in a more accessible format.  The Commission agreed that minutes of its meetings should be fuller than those produced in the Third Assembly and should reflect its principle of collective responsibility.  Commissioners discussed the production of a brief outcome paper following each of its meetings.

The Commission discussed communications with Assembly staff, and agreed that officials should consider involvement of Commissioners in a future all staff meeting.