Agenda and minutes

·         Minutes of meeting on 21 November 2019 – Paper 1

·         Update paper and work programme – Paper 2

·         Assembly Members Pension Scheme: Investment strategy – Paper 2a

1.1        The Chair welcomed Board members to the meeting.

1.2        The Chair and Board members noted the temporary staffing changes for this meeting and welcomed Huw Gapper and Dan Collier.

1.3        The Board agreed the minutes of the 21 November meeting as a correct record, subject to an amendment to paragraph 3.13 to reinforce that the Board considered comparisons with other UK Parliaments when making its decision on the salary levels of support staff.

1.4        The Board noted that the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act had received Royal Assent and that the institution’s name will change on 6 May 2020 to Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament. The Board noted that subsequently, its name would change to Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd.

1.5        The Board noted that the Board’s Chair will be giving evidence to the Committee on Assembly Electoral Reform on Monday 20 January.

1.6        The Board agreed proposals to conduct an informal review of the support staff handbook. The Board agreed to consider a paper at its next meeting setting out its approach to this review.

1.7        The Board agreed to propose an amendment to the support staff Disciplinary and Grievance Procedure to clarify the grounds for appeal. The Board agreed to formally consult Members and support staff as part of its update letter following the meeting.

1.8        The Board agreed that Members should be reminded that, as employers, they have a duty of care for their support staff. The Board agreed to encourage Members to seek advice from the Assembly Commission’s security department on staying safe and secure at all times.

1.9        The Board noted the update on the Members’ Pension Board Investment Strategy.

1.10     The Board considered and agreed its work programme for the spring term.

1.11     The Board agreed to try and schedule the Representative Group meetings for the same day as the next Board meeting.

Action points:

-     The secretariat to amend and publish the minutes from the 21 November meeting;

-     The secretariat to amend the Work Programme to increase the timing of the item on the Determination for the Sixth Assembly for the 2 April meeting. 

-     The secretariat to arrange meeting with Representative Groups ahead of the February meeting.

-     MBS to prepare a paper setting out the scope of the review of the support staff handbook for consideration at the next meeting.

-     The secretariat to issue the Board’s decision letter as soon as possible.

·         Additional advice on R.A.E, Office Costs and Travel – Paper 3

·         Additional advice on Staffing Support for Members and Political Parties – Paper 4

·         Additional advice on Members’ remuneration, Additional Support and Members leaving office – Paper 5

2.1     The Board welcomed Sulafa Thomas to the meeting.

2.2     The Board discussed proposals for R.A.E., Office costs, travel, staffing support and Members leaving office.

2.3     The Board discussed the transfer of Commission funded stationery costs to the Determination and agreed that it was too early to do so now. It was minded to agree that the transfer would occur from the start of the Sixth Assembly

2.4     The Board considered the draft Determination line by line and agreed to consider the amendments and approve the final draft for consultation via email.

2.5     The Board considered the draft consultation document and agreed to consider amendments and approve the final version via email.

2.6     The Board agreed to commission Diverse Cymru to conduct an Equality Impact Assessment on the Determination to inform the final version.

·         Overview of the draft Determination – Paper 6

·         Annex A - Full Determination

·         Annex B - Draft consultation document

·         Publication of consultation – Paper 7

3.1     The Board considered options for how it wishes to publish its consultation on the draft determination.

3.2     The Board considered and agreed the key messages and the timescales of the consultation on the Determination.

Action point:

-     Secretariat to publish the draft Determination and issue the attached documents for consultation in accordance with the communication strategy agreed by the Board.