Meetings

Members considered and agreed the draft Standing Orders report, subject to requested amendments.

Paul Davies said that whilst the Welsh Conservative group did not agree with the proposed model of committee chair job sharing, as the Welsh Conservative group prefers a Chair and Vice Chair model, they recognised the majority in favour of the proposals and would work constructively to develop them.

The Business Committee agreed the proposals for a trial of committee chair job sharing, and that the temporary Standing Orders needed to implement a trial should limit the trial to a maximum of three committees.

Business Committee considered the feedback received to two consultations. The Llywydd introduced the item and the evidence received, including a number of questions and practical concerns that were raised in evidence and by members of the Chairs’ Forum during their discussions on the proposal.

The Trefnydd and Heledd Fychan stated that their groups both support the introduction of provisions enabling job-sharing for committee chairs. Paul Davies stated that his group was opposed to the introduction of committee chair job-sharing and would support the development of a Chair and Deputy Chair model instead.

Having considered views received on terminology, a majority of Business Managers agreed that the term ‘job-sharing’ should continue to be used to describe the proposal.

Business Committee agreed to consult with the Standards of Conduct Committee on matters raised by the Standards Commissioner in his submission. The Committee also asked that further advice be provided on options for the terms and length of a proposed trial, including whether the number of committees able to be chaired in a job-share should be limited for the duration of the trial.

Business Managers agreed to consider these matters further at a future meeting and to discuss with their groups, prior to the development of a final proposal.

Commissioners noted a letter from the Business Committee dated 22 October, inviting information on any resource implications relating to proposals for committee chair job-sharing, and agreed to receive a draft response out of meeting.

Business Committee considered the evidence received during the phase 1 public consultation and agreed to proceed with a phase 2 consultation with Members of the Senedd and other bodies.

In doing so, the Committee agreed:

• the fundamental principles on which the Business Committee’s detailed proposal for consultation will be based;
• a number of further matters on which views should be sought through the phase 2 consultation, including:
• whether the term ‘role-sharing’ should be used in preference to ‘job-sharing’ in light of issues raised in the phase 1 consultation;
• the potential impact of job-sharing for committee chairs on the Senedd’s scrutiny capacity;
• the potential impact of both Members participating in committee business at the same time on the political balance of that committee; and
• whether consideration should also be given to a chair/deputy chair model as a potential alternative approach.
• to consider an updated list of consultation questions by email prior to proceeding.

The Business Committee considered its approach to work on committee chair job sharing and agreed terms of reference and a phased timeline for the work.

That timeline would consist of a limited and targeted evidence-gathering exercise with the Chairs’ Forum and relevant external stakeholders on the principles and practicalities of committee chair job sharing as a first phase of the work. The second phase would involve consulting Members, political groups, the Independent Remuneration Board, the Senedd Commission and Chairs’ Forum on specific proposals in the autumn term.

Business Committee returned to give further consideration to its preferred approach to work on job-sharing and agreed to proceed with a targeted piece of work on job-sharing for committee chairs in the first instance.

Business Committee considered a paper inviting it to confirm its preferred approach to work on job-sharing for committee chairs and agreed to return to the matter at the following meeting to enable Business Managers to discuss the options with their groups. 

Business Committee considered a paper on job-sharing for committee chairs and agreed:

• that a paper is prepared and returned to the Business Committee before Whitsun recess on the practical and procedural issues relating to committee chair job sharing, to include a proposed list of questions that will form the basis of internal and external evidence gathering;
• to consult with Members of the Senedd directly and via Business Managers, and with the Chairs’ Forum;
• to issue an open call for written evidence and promote this to relevant stakeholders; and
• to give further consideration to scheduling oral evidence in light of any written evidence received.

Heledd Fychan enquired as to whether the potential for enabling job sharing in other non-statutory roles could also be considered through this process. The Trefnydd stated that Business Committee would need to be clear in explaining the scope of this work, and the reasons for it, particularly with external audiences.

Darren Millar requested that consideration be given to whether this work should be taken forward by the Business Committee or the Reform Bill Committee, given the expertise that it has developed in related areas. He also noted the potential implications for backbenchers on scrutiny capacity if additional office holders are introduced through job sharing.

The Llywydd agreed that the Committee will return to these matters when considering the next paper on this subject.

Business Committee returned to consider the issue of whether to take forward consideration of Committee Chair Job Sharing in advance of the Easter recess, and potential committee chair vacancies which may arise because of the new First Minister appointing their government. A majority on Business Committee agreed that a longer period of time is required to give the relevant matters full consideration.

Business Committee agreed to take that detailed consideration forward over the coming months, recognising that any changes would not be in place for any vacancies that arise following the Easter recess.

The Business Committee considered a paper on Committee Chair Job Sharing and agreed to hold a further discussion at the next meeting, following discussions with party groups.