Agenda and minutes

1.1 The Chair welcomed the Board to the meeting.

1.2 The Board agreed the minute of the meeting on 23 March 2017.

1.3 The Board:

·         noted its work programme for the remainder of 2017 and its meeting dates up to March 2018;

·         to defer a decision on cancelling its October 2017 meeting to its meeting in July;

·         agreed to consider its meeting dates up to March 2019 outside of the meeting and for these dates to be agreed at the Board’s July meeting.

1.4 The Board considered the results of the first annual Assembly Member and Support Staff satisfaction survey and noted that some results may be relevant to its work on the effectiveness and underpinning principles of the Determination.

1.5 The Chair updated the Board on the recent recruitment exercise for the appointment of a new Board member.

1.6 The Chair informed the Board she would be meeting with the Chair of the Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform to discuss any issues which may relate to the Board’s future work in developing a Determination which is fit for the Sixth Assembly.

1.7 The Board agreed to consider developing a definition for the role of Assembly Members and their support staff to be included within the Determination.

1.8 The Board agreed to consider the process that Members Business Support use in administrating claims at its next meeting.

2.1 The Board considered the paper on support for Political Parties and agreed to consider the provisions regarding support for Political Parties and individuals Members fully at a later date, but at present:

·         the salary of Party Leaders will decrease and increase in line with how many Assembly Members are in their group and not on being a member of the Political Party;

·         the Political Party Support Allowance will be allocated to independent Members;

·         independent Assembly Members can vire funds to political groups in the Assembly.

3.1 The Board considered its engagement strategy and agreed to:

·         consider the options for developing its own independent microsite and social media presence; and

·         develop a bespoke engagement strategy for each piece of work.

Action Points:

The Secretariat to:

·         prepare an example of how the Board’s microsite may look; and

·         identify ways to approach engagement and communications for forthcoming work.