Meetings

15.1 The Chair noted that this would be Simon’s last meeting. Simon confirmed that he would remain in post until the financial statements had been signed by the Auditor General for Wales, and that arrangements were in place for a handover with the new Chief Finance Officer.

Manon Antoniazzi, Chief Executive and Clerk attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No Commission officials were present and no minutes were taken.

Next meeting is scheduled for 3 July 2023. 

21.1 No other business was raised.

Clare James, Audit Wales attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No Commission officials were present and no minutes were taken.

Next meeting is scheduled for 12 June 2023. 

Oral item

12.1 Ed noted that the interviews for the Chief Finance Officer role would take place on 27 February. He confirmed that Simon had kindly confirmed that he would remain available to the Commission to ensure continuity during the audit of the accounts and to allow for an effective handover to the new, permanent appointee.

12.2 Ed also provided assurance that, with the imminent departure of the Head of Human Resources, interim measures were in place and a recruitment campaign would be underway in due course.

The Head of Internal Audit attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No minutes were taken.

Next meeting was scheduled for 27 April 2023.

17.1 The Chair paid tribute to Catharine Bray, Head of Finance who was retiring from the Senedd Commission in the coming weeks. He wished to thank her for her overwhelming support and noted that her technical knowledge and expertise had been very much valued and appreciated. He also reiterated his thanks to Nia for her support and guidance over the past few years.  

Next meeting is scheduled for 13 February 2023.

Oral item

13.1 Ann Beynon thanked the Chair for allowing time for her to share her reflections. She had been grateful for the opportunity to work with a public sector organisation and had found the work of the Committee engaging.

13.2 She congratulated officials on the professional quality of the papers, particularly in relation to finance and commented on the meaningful  approach to internal audit.

13.3 Ann also thanked the Chair for the regular discussions outside of the formal meetings, which she felt had helped increase her knowledge of Senedd Commission activity. She encouraged continued development of the work of the Committee, commenting on the complexity of advisory committees and boards as the Senedd evolved and the need for them to work together.

13.4 Whilst her exposure to officials had been limited more recently due to the pandemic, she commented on the polite, respectful, positive, and confident culture and supportive environment she had encountered. She urged senior management to be mindful of the impact of external pressures on this culture and to consider how individuals responded differently to pressure, suggesting this could be covered in training for managers. She also commented on the importance of providing honest feedback to staff and in a polite manner in line with the values of dignity and respect.

13.5 Her final remarks were to encourage officials to look after themselves and each other. 

Oral item

12.1 No other business was raised.

Next formal meeting is scheduled for 21 November 2022.

Oral update

Oral update

3.1 The Chair agreed that, due to the lifting of Welsh Government restrictions, this would be the last formal Covid-19 corporate update.

3.2 Ed confirmed that the Covid Resilience and Monitoring Group (CRAM) would remain in place until the Summer recess after which its remit would be incorporated into the Health, Safety, Wellbeing and Safeguarding Committee. All statutory Covid-19 measures had been removed, although the wearing of face coverings by all building users remained as part of the Commission’s guidance. Reported cases of Covid-19 on the estate had been managed effectively and the impact on business continuity was reducing; this demonstrated the effectiveness of the measures and internal processes in place. 

3.3 Ed reported significant on-site presence and activity, particularly on business days. The Leadership Team, Executive Board and the Commission continued to meet virtually, in hybrid format and in person. Evidently, this provided the organisation with greater flexibility and resilience, should restrictions be imposed in the future.      

3.4 Ed shared some further information with the Committee regarding the second paper on ‘ways of working’ which was due to be considered by the Commission on 9 May. The paper described the structure of service areas and their approach to future ways of working. Ed agreed to share the Commission’s response to the paper with the Committee at the next meeting. 

3.5 The Committee thanked Ed for his update and, recognising that more staff would be expected to return to the estate now that restrictions had been lifted, encouraged senior management to continue to take account of their welfare and wellbeing. 

Action

·    Provide an update to the Committee on the Commission’s response to the second paper on ‘ways of working’.

Oral item

20.1 No other business was raised.

20.2 The Accounting Officer attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No minutes were taken.

Oral item

16.1 No other business was raised.

16.2 Gareth Lucey attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No minutes were taken.

Next meeting is scheduled for 29 April 2022.

Oral item

Oral item

22.1    No other business was raised.

Gareth Watts attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No minutes were taken.

Next meeting is scheduled for 14 February 2022.

Oral item

Oral item

12.1 No other business was raised.

Manon Antoniazzi attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No minutes were taken.

Next meeting is scheduled for 9 July 2021.

Oral update

18.1      Ann Beynon, as member of REWAC welcomed this opportunity to feedback on its last two meetings, the latest of which had focused primarily on discussions around the remuneration of senior management. 

18.2      At the March meeting, the Committee had discussed the following:

-      the scope of an effectiveness review of REWAC to be carried out by Gareth Watts, the output from which would be shared with the Committee;

-      plans to hold a scenario planning meeting in the summer;

-      how to support the review of the Commission’s Dignity and Respect policy in the autumn;

-      results of the latest wellbeing pulse survey, noting that this now allowed for benchmarking of scores against other public sector bodies and that the overall happiness score was favourable compared to other organisations;

-      ways to address socio-economic inequality and to increase BAME representation in the Commission, including the possibility of a benchmarking exercise with other organisations which would need to take account of the relatively low turnover of staff; and

-      the Commission’s Communication and Engagement strategy.

18.3      Ann and the Chair of REWAC had recently been involved in the recruitment of two senior posts within the Engagement Directorate and had been impressed with quality of applications and pleased to have been part of the process.

18.4      The Chair thanked Ann for this feedback and noted good progress with the REWAC programme of work. 

15.1    This item would be discussed out of Committee.

13.1    Ann Beynon, as member of the Commission’s Remuneration, Engagement and Workforce Advisory Committee (REWAC) welcomed this opportunity to feedback on the last meeting held on 30 November 2020.  She reported that the response rate of the Pulse survey, held in October had increased, but the uptake of the Dignity and Respect survey by Members of the Senedd was very low. 

13.2    REWAC had discussed ways of improving daily communications and how the start of a new Senedd term would be a great opportunity to promote policies, and refresh training and guidance. Ann referred to a report into journalism in Wales and discussions at REWAC focusing on how messages from and about the Senedd could be disseminated wider, whilst upholding our separation from the Welsh Government.

13.3    Arwyn updated members on the paper being prepared for Commissioners on sustaining journalism in Wales, building on the work of the Digital Taskforce whose reported was published in 2017.

13.4    The Chair thanked Ann for this feedback and would welcome feedback at future meetings. 

14.1    Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the Chair confirmed that there had been no Chairs’ forum events to report on.

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17.1     Gareth Watts attended a private session with members of the Committee once formal proceedings had concluded. No minutes were taken.

 Next meeting is scheduled for 12 February 2021.

4.1        The Chair would be presenting the ARAC Annual Report to the Commission on Monday 13 July and there was a discussion around key messages to convey. He would report back to the Committee in the Autumn. 

4.2        The Chair also agreed to give further consideration to arranging an informal meeting early in the Autumn term and would circulate details to Committee members.

Action

·         (5.2) The Chair to circulate details of an informal meeting to Committee members.

Next meeting is scheduled for 20 November 2020.

11.1   Ann asked officials for an update on the proposals around attending a future Executive Board meeting to discuss the strategy for the sixth Senedd. Officials indicated a date was being arranged for the session to take place sometime in July.

Next meeting is scheduled for 10 July 2020.