Agenda and minutes

Angela Burns AM and David Melding AM had sent their apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

paper 1

The minutes of the 18 June meeting were agreed.

oral

The ICT facilities available to Members in the Siambr had been in place since the Senedd opened. Many of the facilities within the Siambr would require updating over the next two years. The Commission’s ICT strategy offered a range of new opportunities to provide a better working environment for Members and enable innovative practices to be introduced.

Members had recently been asked to give their feedback on the following options:

·         Retain the Fixed ICT

·         Mobile ICT and A Flexible Workspace

·         Plenary Touch Screen Display Only

The survey had indicated that the majority of respondents would prefer to see the introduction of a mobile solution. However there was also significant interest in retaining some form of fixed desk. Some had commented that there should be flexibility as not all users wished to adopt the same ways of working. Consideration would also need to be given to making the best use of the desk space available to Members in the Siambr.

Based on these views ICT would explore the options available before bringing proposals back to the Commission after the summer recess. 

As previously agreed, changes would be made incrementally and with pace so that the benefits could be realised quickly.

paper 2

Since 2008-09 the Assembly Commission had successfully achieved a 34% reduction in energy emissions against the challenging target of a 40% reduction by 2015, demonstrating excellent performance compared with the rest of the public sector in Wales.

To maintain this momentum and identify areas where activity should focused in forthcoming years technical and specialist support had been provided by Arup and the Carbon Trust. A new carbon reduction routemap had been developed which would, if implemented, enable the Commission to achieve a further 30% reduction (on the 2012-13 base line) in emissions by 2021. The proposed routemap included:

-       Actions that would enable the Commission to continue its successful programme of energy emission reductions;

-       A basis for developing a new Carbon Management Strategy that would be in place from 2015 and would include a range of other targets including waste, water, and travel;

-       Detailed analysis of energy use and emissions which provided a sound basis for developing a challenging but achievable plan to drive energy emissions down further whilst ensuring a comfortable working environment for all;

-       Good housekeeping and Invest to Save projects focusing on efficiency and improved technology, many of which would give an immediate payback, with a maximum of 8.5 year payback for others;

-       Detailed analysis of the financial savings to be gained as a result of the energy efficiency interventions.

Although the use of renewable technologies had been explored, the estimated payback of more than 10 years meant that this was not a viable option at present. It was recommended that further analysis in this area be explored at the appropriate time.

Commissioners endorsed the routemap, which would be implemented from within existing sustainability and project budgets. Many of the actions identified were linked to the necessary replacement of equipment which is at the end of its operational life, providing opportunities for more efficient and sustainable replacements.

The next meeting would be held on 7 July. The Commission would be considering the Assembly Commission Audit and Risk Assurance Committee’s Annual Report and the Budget Strategy for 2015-16.

Secretariat

June 2014