Meetings

Review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation

This page gives details of any meetings held which will, or did, discuss the matter, and includes links to the relevant Papers, Agendas and Minutes.

Note: Meeting Agenda can change at short notice. Particularly where future meeting dates are indicated more than a week in advance. Please check before planning to attend a Committee Meeting that the item you are interested in has not been moved.

Meeting: 27/09/2022 - Business Committee (Item 5)

Review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation


Meeting: 27/09/2022 - Business Committee (Item 5)

Draft of guidance on virtual and hybrid proceedings

Supporting documents:

  • Restricted enclosure 4

Minutes:

Business Committee agreed the guidance subject to consultation with the Chairs’ Forum on the elements that relate to committee business at its next meeting. The updated guidance relating to Plenary business will be published and provided to Members following the resolution of a technical query relating to the use by Members of iPads for voting, with the final guidance to follow once the Chairs’ Forum has been consulted.

 


Meeting: 12/07/2022 - Business Committee (Item 7)

First draft of guidance on virtual and hybrid proceedings

Supporting documents:

  • Restricted enclosure 7

Minutes:

Business Committee discussed draft guidance produced following its Review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation in Senedd proceedings, and agreed several changes relating to the locations from which Members are able to vote and to arrangements for Members’ and Ministers’ participation in committee meetings.

 

Business Committee noted that the guidance will also be subject to consultation with the Chairs’ Forum prior to it being issued by the Llywydd during the autumn. Further information on technical matters relating to participation and voting in Plenary will be provided at the start of the autumn term.

 


Meeting: 12/07/2022 - Business Committee (Item 7)

Review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation


Meeting: 05/07/2022 - Business Committee (Item 5)

Consideration of draft report on amending Standing Orders: Standing Order 34 and remote participation in Senedd proceedings

Supporting documents:

  • Restricted enclosure 12

Minutes:

Business Committee considered and agreed the report of the review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation in Senedd proceedings, subject to an amendment in relation to attendance at committee meetings which would be agreed outside of the meeting. The Committee would consider initial draft guidance on participation in virtual and hybrid proceedings at its next meeting.

 


Meeting: 05/07/2022 - Business Committee (Item 5)

Review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation


Meeting: 21/06/2022 - Business Committee (Item 4)

Remote participation and voting in Plenary and committees

Supporting documents:

  • Restricted enclosure 17
  • Restricted enclosure 18
  • Restricted enclosure 19
  • Restricted enclosure 20
  • Restricted enclosure 21
  • Restricted enclosure 22

Minutes:

As part of its review of Standing Order 34 (emergency procedures), Business Committee considered whether remote participation and voting in Plenary and committee meetings should continue beyond the Covid-19 pandemic. In doing so, the Committee considered responses received from individual Members, party groups, the Chairs’ Forum and the Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales. Business Committee agreed that:

 

  • remote participation in Plenary meetings should be maintained with further guidance to be issued encompassing a range of matters relating to attendance and conduct, including emphasising that it is the responsibility of Members participating remotely to secure a reliable connection to proceedings;
  • committees should continue to be able to choose the format in which they meet on a meeting-by-meeting basis and that chairs of committees should make those decisions, including in relation to witnesses, having consulted with their committees;
  • Standing Orders 34.14A-D permitting remote electronic voting in Plenary should be incorporated into Standing Order 12, to include that it is solely the responsibility of Members to ensure that they are able to access the voting system ahead of any votes. Business Committee agreed that further guidance should be issued in relation to the conduct of voting;
  • Standing Orders 34.14E-F permitting remote electronic voting in committee meetings should be allowed to lapse and to propose that Standing Order 17 be amended to enable voting by roll-call in committee proceedings;
  • Standing Orders 34.15-17 (Accessibility of Plenary Meetings) and 34.19-21 (Accessibility of Committee meetings) should be allowed to lapse;
  • Standing Orders 12.1 and 17.40 be revised to clarify that virtual and hybrid meetings qualify as public meetings where a live broadcast is available.

 

Business Committee also asked for further consideration to be given to the continued necessity of technical breaks prior to voting time and the use of a PIN for voting, as well as whether party groups might be provided with increased information around which Members are present for voting.

 


Meeting: 21/06/2022 - Business Committee (Item 4)

Standing Order 34 provisions

Supporting documents:

  • Restricted enclosure 25

Minutes:

Business Committee agreed to propose that Standing Orders SO34.2-4 (Designated Temporary Presiding Officer) are allowed to lapse on 1 August 2022 and Standing Orders SO34.5-8 (Acting Chair of Plenary Meetings) are incorporated into Standing Order 6.

 


Meeting: 21/06/2022 - Business Committee (Item 4)

Review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation


Meeting: 14/06/2022 - Business Committee (Item 5)

Paper on Standing Order 34 provisions

Supporting documents:

  • Restricted enclosure 30

Minutes:

Business Committee considered a number of the current provisions within Standing Order 34 (Emergency Procedures) and agreed to propose that the following Standing Orders are allowed to lapse on 1 August 2022:

  • Recall of the Senedd by the Presiding Officer (SO34.9)
  • Quorum in Plenary (SO34.10)
  • (Weighted) Voting in Plenary (SO34.11-14)
  • Oral Questions (SO34.18)
  • Responsible Committee under Standing Order 21 (SO34.22-23).

 

Business Committee agreed to return to a further discussion on the Standing Orders relating to a Designated Temporary Presiding Officer (SO34.2-4) and an Acting Chair of Plenary Meetings (SO34.5-8) at the following meeting.

Business Committee also agreed that remote electronic voting would be retained in Standing Orders for use in future emergency situations, irrespective of the decisions reached at subsequent meetings over its continuing routine use.

 


Meeting: 14/06/2022 - Business Committee (Item 5)

Review of Standing Order 34 and remote participation