Meetings
Senedd Commission Budget 2024-25
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: 29/01/2024 - Senedd Commission (Item 2)
Budget Savings 2024/25
Supporting documents:
- Restricted enclosure 2
Minutes:
Commission
considered proposals for meeting the £315K savings target for the 2024-25
budget, which was to be identified
prior to the start of the 2024-25 financial year.
Commissioners discussed the relative impacts of proposals relating to
elements of non-staff costs and vacancy management to achieve the savings.
Commissioners approved the proposals for meeting the target savings, subject to an adjustment to maintain the funding level provided to support Members’ International and EU engagement.
Meeting: 11/12/2023 - Senedd Commission (Item 2)
Response to Finance Committee re: Supplementary Budget Review
Supporting documents:
- Restricted enclosure 5
Minutes:
The
Finance Committee had written to the Commission by way of update to their
Review of the Statement of Principles, inviting further consideration of issues
relating to the Senedd’s Supplementary Budget procedures.
The Commissioners agreed their letter of response, which set out observations on the processes for both supplementary budget and annual budget and made suggestions as to how some of these could be addressed, for the Committee’s consideration.
Meeting: 06/11/2023 - Senedd Commission (Item 10)
Letters to Finance Committee
Supporting documents:
- Restricted enclosure 8
- Restricted enclosure 9
Minutes:
Commissioners noted the letters to Finance Committee on the Cost of Living payment, and with further information following the scrutiny session, as circulated out of meeting (on 3 October 2023 and 10 October 2023 respectively).
Meeting: 06/11/2023 - Senedd Commission (Item 2)
Senedd Commission 2024-25 Budget
Supporting documents:
- Restricted enclosure 12
- Restricted enclosure 13
- Restricted enclosure 14
Minutes:
Commissioners
were updated on the
scrutiny of the 2024-25 Senedd Commission draft Budget by the Finance Committee
on 5 October. Commissioners agreed their response to the recommendations raised
in the Finance Committee Report, and approved the Final Budget for 2024-25.
The Budget
narrative had been amended on the Commission pension costs on page 9 as
requested by the Finance Committee and Commissioners noted the recommendation
to address the additional Commission Pension cost through Supplementary budget
request.
The Final Budget document for 2024-25 would be laid on 8 November 2023 with the Budget Motion to be debated in plenary on 15 November 2023.
Meeting: 25/09/2023 - Senedd Commission (Item 2)
Draft Budget 2024-25
Supporting documents:
- Restricted enclosure 17
- Restricted enclosure 18
- Restricted enclosure 19
Minutes:
Commissioners
were presented with the 2024-25 Draft Budget for agreement. Changes to the
budget since the 6 September Commission meeting were highlighted.
These included the operational and total budget
requirement for 2024-25, ring-fenced provisions for Senedd Reform and Ways
of Working programme costs, a minor change to the baseline staffing budget,
consolidating a payment to be made to support staff and the Members’ Pension
scheme.
A
further update was provided including in relation to areas where it was known
change could be expected but where detail would not be available within the
timing parameters of the requirements on the Commission to lay the budget.
These included work to be undertaken by the IRB on payments to MSS/MS, and
support staff salaries. It was recognised that these would potentially have to
be dealt with through the supplementary budget processes once the detail became
available if the budget assumptions were insufficient.
Commissioners
discussed the significance of having to balance the delivery of substantial
change programmes alongside the challenge to provide appropriately for BAU and
requested further information be provided to the next meeting to inform
prioritisation considerations and policy decisions in regard of income
generation.
Commissioners
also requested brief notes to set out analysis of the Welsh Block and to
provide information about contract management which had led to cost savings,
which had been discussed in relation to photocopiers.
Commissioners
noted the Finance Committee’s Statement of Principles (no change from 2019) and
the letter sent from the Minister for Finance and Local Government to the Chair
of the Finance Committee.
Commissioners approved the 2024-25 Draft Budget to be laid, subject to the adjustments discussed.
Meeting: 06/09/2023 - Senedd Commission (Item 3)
Draft Commission Budget 2024-25
Supporting documents:
- Restricted enclosure 22
Minutes:
Commissioners
considered work undertaken as preparation for the final draft Commission budget
for 2024-25, which would be presented for final decision at the meeting on 25
September.
Commissioners
discussed and provided views in relation to:
• staffing costs and cost of living
crisis impact;
• the operational and total budget
requirement for 2024-25, budget pressure cost reductions and savings required
to be identified through the service planning process and corporate review;
• the Medium Term Resourcing Framework
(MTRF) and future year budget estimates;
• ringfencing costs relating to
programmes which respond to requested work to be undertaken by the Senedd and
the Finance Committee i.e. Senedd Reform, Ways of Working, and any future Cost
of Living Payment;
• the Determination and support for the
Remuneration Board.
The Clerk
set out that the recommendation of the Executive Board was not to incorporate
funding for outcome of a future pay deal, based on the current PCS pay
negotiation position, in the core budget. The Executive Board recommended
accelerating discussions about the next pay deal. Commissioners confirmed the
bases for the development of the final draft Commission budget for 2024-25,
including preparation on the basis of the existing pay deal. The final draft
budget would be reviewed and agreed at the next meeting and laid thereafter in
accordance with the requirements of Standing Orders. They agreed that it would
be helpful to write to the Finance Committee to provide additional information
for the scrutiny of the budget.
Meeting: 22/05/2023 - Senedd Commission (Item 3)
Draft Budget 2024-25
Supporting documents:
- Restricted enclosure 25
Minutes:
Commissioners considered a number of issues that were
likely to impact Commission finances during 2024-25 and provided direction that
proposals in these areas should be developed as part of the 2024-25 draft
budget. These included:
·
Senedd
Reform
·
Ways
of Working programme (detailed projections)
·
Commission’s
Pay Strategy budget impacts
·
Non-pay
considerations.
Commissioners discussed the challenges of operating in a
fiscally tight environment with difficult choices needing to be made, balancing
the need to deliver existing services, meet contractual obligations, and
respond to new demands. The Commission’s continuing positive position excluding
compulsory redundancies was referenced.
They agreed to consider the draft budget alongside
the draft Medium-Term Resourcing
Framework, work which would bring together draft Medium-Term Financial and
Workforce Plans, as part of meeting the timescales required by the Standing
Orders.
Commissioners also noted that any budgetary impact of estimated future energy costs; reviewing estates, ICT and project fund budgets; any changes to employer pension contribution costs; and the annual review of Determination Costs would be set out in the 2024-25 Draft Budget.