Agenda and minutes

No apologies had been received.

There were no declarations of interest.

paper 1

The minutes of the 13 February meeting were agreed.

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The Commission considered a paper which set out the background to the reporting of Assembly proceedings. Key points which Commissioners noted included:

·         Proceedings in the Assembly were reported in a number of ways, which was to be expected in a modern, accessible and transparent democracy.

·         In line with practice across the Commonwealth and the approach in Westminster since the 19th century, the Assembly’s Record of Proceedings was not a verbatim transcript but an edited record of what was said during plenary and in committee.

·         The existence of Senedd.tv meant that that the written Record was not the only source for those interested in what happened during Assembly proceedings.

Commissioners discussed the current approach to the production and publication of the Record of Proceedings and the refresh of Senedd.tv, agreeing that there may be opportunities to take advantage of new technologies in this area.

Commissioners agreed that producing a written record to provide a formal account of proceedings in the Assembly, particularly Plenary proceedings, was important and likely to remain so in the foreseeable future. However, any opportunities there may be to report things differently, particularly where these could increase engagement with and understanding of the work of the Assembly, should be explored.  

Commissioners agreed to carry out a review, over the next 12 months, to look at a number of aspects including:

·         exploring different ways of working and the use of technology to improve efficiency and make best use of resources in this important area of activity;

·         the form that reporting proceedings should take in order to meet the needs of Members and stakeholders; and

·         assessing the opportunities that were available to use these products in different ways, making the Assembly’s activities more transparent, open and easier to engage with in a digital world.

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In December 2013 Commissioners requested regular reports on progress with the Future ICT Services Project, including the readiness assessment for transition towards in-house provision of ICT services.

Commissioners discussed progress on this significant project and the preparatory work that had been carried out to ensure that the transition was as efficient and smooth as possible. The project remained on track and the Assembly Commission was expected to take responsibility for ICT provision at the Assembly in April, three months ahead of the contract deadline.

Efforts were being made to ensure Assembly Members, their support staff and Commission employees were aware of the detailed preparatory work that had been undertaken. Commissioners asked for messages to be sent to all those working for the Assembly and representatives from ICT were talking to all party groups to ensure that those affected by the transition were aware of what was happening. 

Officials were congratulated for their work on this complex project to date. The decision on readiness to make the transition in April would be taken by the Commission at the end of March.

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A private strategy meeting would be held on 3 April at which Commissioners would discuss their priorities for the remainder of this Assembly, preparations for transition to the Fifth Assembly and significant constitutional issues on the horizon.

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The minutes were formally noted.

The next Commission meeting would be held on 26 March 2014. Agenda items would include ICT in the Chamber and ICT transition readiness. 

Secretariat

March 2014