Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Carys Evans, 029 2089 8598
No. | Item |
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Introduction |
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Introduction and apologies Minutes: Rhodri Glyn Thomas was unable
to attend due to Committee of the Regions business and had sent his apologies. |
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Declarations of interest Minutes: There
were no declarations of interest. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting Supporting documents: Minutes: The minutes of the 30 January
meeting were agreed. |
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Commission Budget Strategy 2015-16 paper 2 Minutes: The
Commission’s budget strategy during the Fourth Assembly had allowed for
investment to achieve outstanding parliamentary support in facilities,
services, expertise and the public interface, whilst also delivering value for
money and efficiency. 2015-16 would be the final year of the Fourth
Assembly and the culmination of the current Commission’s work in these areas. It
was agreed that the approach for the 2015-16 budget would follow that adopted
since the start of the Fourth Assembly. It would focus on driving out
inefficiency and securing value for money to allow for continued innovation and
an ongoing commitment to the quality of services to Members and the public.
Longer term plans and scenarios should also be considered to ease the
transition for the next Commission in 2016. Commissioners approved the
Budget Strategy 2015-16, including the recommendations in section 2. Officials
would develop the draft budget in line with the agreed approach for further
discussion in May. |
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Future Assembly Youth Engagement Services paper 3 and annexes Minutes: In May 2013 the Commission had agreed to consult young
people on the future of the Assembly’s youth engagement work. This was done
during Autumn 2013 and had resulted in views being contributed by nearly 3,000
young people from across Wales. The consultation had provided new information
about young people’s understanding of and interest in the Assembly and some
ideas about how the Assembly could best engage with young people in ways that
enabled them to contribute to its work. Commissioners discussed the proposed approach that had
arisen from the consultation and the direct feedback from young people, which
was to make youth engagement an integral part of the work Members do, supported
by the full range of services the Commission provides. The proposed approach
was based upon three main themes: ·
reaching out (to
make sure young people could find out about Assembly business and what it meant
for them); ·
enabling debate
(providing a range of ways for young people to get involved); and ·
feedback for
young people about the outcomes of their participation. An external stakeholder group, comprising umbrella
organisations that between them reached over 80,000 young people, had discussed
the proposed approach at the end of January and was very supportive of it. Commissioners considered a number of ideas, including: ·
more support for
Assembly Members and Commission staff, including specialist youth work
expertise; ·
linking up with
other organisations and networks to reach diverse groups, including harder to
reach young people; ·
holding events
such as “youth day” and awarding certificates to participants; and ·
increasing the
range of services available through the www.yourassembly.org young people’s website. Assembly Members would be able to participate in work if
they wished, including the launch event proposed for the Summer Term. The
project would continue alongside the normal business of the Assembly so that it
was not entirely dependent on Members’ involvement. Although the approach was significantly different to
that which had been initially discussed by the Commission, it was felt that the
strategic direction being put forward was right because it was based on young
people’s views. Achieving the ambitious vision would require the delivery of
short, medium and long term actions. An action plan was being developed by
officials. |
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Update from 3 February Assembly Commission's Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ACARAC) oral item Minutes: Angela
Burns gave an oral update on discussions by the Assembly’s Audit and Risk
Assurance Committee at its meeting on 3 February. Eric Gregory had taken over
as Chair and this was his first meeting in that role. The
Committee had discussed business continuity planning and were satisfied with
progress being made in this area following a review in October 2013. Work was
being carried out in relation to the performance of the facilities management
contract and the Committee discussed the corporate risks linked to the Official
Languages Scheme. The Wales Audit Office had
provided their Audit Outline for the accounts for 2013-14, which had identified
nothing unusual. As part of normal audit assurances provided for Members’ pay
and allowances the WAO would sample audit records of payments to AMSS. |
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Any other business Minutes: Angela
Burns summarised discussions at the Children and Young People Committee
regarding the need for external providers, who were engaged to support under
the Members’ Continuing Professional Development programme, to have a thorough
understanding of the work of the Assembly and how this differs from other
legislatures. This matter would be taken forward by officials. The
next Commission meeting would be held on 6 March 2014. Agenda items would
include the Record of Proceedings and progress towards the ICT transition. Secretariat February 2014 |