Meetings

paper 5

Commissioners discussed the enhancements made to the support for committees since they considered the issue last December. They commented on the good progress that had been made, particularly with regard to the provision of increasingly concise background documents, provision of bilingual services and the innovative work done on the challenging issue of engagement, which had been acknowledged as exemplar by other legislatures.

They also talked about the importance of committee work being led by the committee, the role of the Chair in facilitating the operation of the committee and the significance of Chairs participating in CPD (for example the Leadership seminar in January 2015).  They acknowledged that this would be useful in developing CPD for the Fifth Assembly.

The Commission considered how analysis and evaluation of outcomes could be undertaken to inform further improvements and felt that it could be useful for committees to be provided with data on their achievements to consider when thinking about their legacy reports.

Siân Wilkins presented an update for Commissioners, outlining enhancements made to the support for committees since their consideration of the issue last December.  The Commission’s role was one of support to committees rather than directing committees to work in particular ways. The paper sought the Commission’s view on the direction of further work and presented options for more detailed analysis and evaluation to inform improvements and measurement of outcomes.

The Board agreed that it showed a very positive story and felt the approach was now embedded. They asked that the progress on the review of the Record and the work on communication with hard to reach groups was also included.  The reference to CPD for Members and Chairs should be updated to reflect discussions between the Remuneration Board and Commissioners on 3 November.

The paper would be presented to Commissioners on 17 November.

paper 2

Commissioners discussed the review of the support provided to Assembly Committees, which it had initiated in December 2012. An update had been provided before the summer recess, following which Commissioners had asked for further work to be done to develop a vision for this core area of Assembly activity and options for enhancing performance through the resources put in place by the Commission.

Commissioners set out their vision for world class parliamentary committees, agreeing that:

-         they should demonstrably improve the  quality of policy outcomes legislation, public services and government spending for society as a whole in Wales;

-         they should be respected, influential and accessible, acting with integrity and independence;

-         their work should be strategic and rigorous.

Commissioners recognised that the size of the Assembly meant that all Committees had significant workloads. For some Committees the increasing volume of legislation affected the amount of time available for policy scrutiny. It was agreed that Committees worked most effectively when they took a strategic approach to their work. This helped to increase their impact and reach.

The support available to committee Members such as bilingual briefings, research and legal advice, were of a very high standard. Providing these in ways that best suited the needs of Members so that they could undertake their committee work effectively was essential. New ways of working should continue to be explored to ensure that these resources were well-targeted and had the maximum impact.

Excellent ways of working that enhanced performance and increased capacity should be regularly shared by Chairs so that innovative practices could be adopted across the Committees. Sharing information in this way would drive up performance across the Assembly whilst retaining the flexibility for Committees to set their own strategies and balance their workloads.

Examples of areas of excellence highlighted by Commissioners included engagement with civil society, continuous professional development undertaken by individual Chairs and by Committees, and the use of external advisors.  In advising the Commission, Daniel Greenberg praised the work already done by Assembly Committees and agreed that aspects of the work done here are admired by other parliaments, particularly the approach to continuous professional development and use of expertise.

It was agreed that the vision and core issues would be set out in a report from the Commission. A draft of this report would be prepared for Commissioners to consider and discussions would then take place with Committee Chairs and others.

In December 2012 the Commission initiated a review of the support provided to Assembly Committees, which looked at the whole range of support in place. The review set out to identify immediate improvements, and to ensure the support provided is always driven by the Chairs and the Committees themselves and meets the needs of individual Members and Committees.

Over the last 6 months, evidence had been gathered from Chairs and individual Committee Members to better understand their requirements and the extent to which they felt the existing provision needed to be changed. Views had varied, with some of the evidence showing that Members were satisfied with the support on offer, and others calling for changes in working practices. The work had provided an opportunity to try new ways of working. The Assembly Member and support staff survey results, which had just been compiled, would also influence future proposals for change.

Although Commissioners felt that the information presented provided a useful update on progress to date and the range of views represented, they expressed concern that the paper did not provide them with a strategic view of future options. It was felt that there should be a greater emphasis on building on best practice, including identifying a model for the core services that would provide outstanding parliamentary support. Commissioners wanted to take a more holistic approach and include all aspects of available support to Members, including, for example, technological advances and continual professional development. The proposals also needed to take account of the volume of work that needed to be done by only 42 Assembly Members. It was agreed that the matter would be brought back to a Commission meeting in the Autumn.

Action: A further paper would be presented in the Autumn.