Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room 4B - Tŷ Hywel. View directions

Contact: Liz Jardine 

Items
No. Item

1.

Introductions, apologies and declarations of interest

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Anna Daniel (Head of Strategic Transformation), Nia Morgan (Head of Financial Services) and Mair Parry-Jones (Head of Translation and Reporting Service).

 

2.

Communication note to staff

Minutes:

Adrian Crompton would draft a note of the Management Board discussion for the staff news page.

 

3.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

Minutes:

The minutes of the 20 July Management Board meeting were agreed as a correct record. 

 

4.

Purpose of the Meeting

Minutes:

Manon Antoniazzi explained that the Llywydd had asked her to formalise the capacity planning exercise currently underway in order to inform the Commission’s discussion of priorities in the Autumn.  This meeting would contribute to that process by reviewing the outcome of the service planning round in March, to scrutinise it robustly and test the arguments presented. Manon thanked everyone for their preparation for the meeting and noted that the documentation presented a comprehensive picture of what the organisation was doing, in line with the strategic objectives.

This would inform the next meeting of the Commission, when they would finalise the budget proposals to go before the Assembly in the autumn.  The organisation was currently undertaking a number of internal reviews across areas and projects, including efficiency and effectiveness.  These reviews would help to contextualise the budget and provide factual clarity.

 

5.

Youth Parliament

Minutes:

Non Gwilym presented a draft paper, due to be discussed at the Commission in September, following the public consultation on the key principles of a youth parliament. The paper summarised the results of the consultation, options for the next steps and the financial, operational and reputational issues to consider.

An Equality Impact Assessment was being prepared with the Diversity and Inclusion team, with feed in by external stakeholders, to ensure that hard to reach groups were included.

Management Board discussed the options outlined on how an election and the first two years of the youth parliament might be delivered, either: within the current organisational resource, de-prioritising, delaying or stopping other activities to accommodate it; providing alternative support, such as online education resources to release staff; or through bringing in additional resources (it was recognised that it would still have an impact on current staff at key points in the youth parliament year and those with specific skills to support, for example, the Research and Legal teams).

ACTIONS:

·                Non Gwilym to include in the final paper the options for delivery and describe what any extra resource would look like; the ongoing committed costs to continue the parliament once established and the impact on other teams in the organisation.

·                Management Board members to assist Non in populating the section on the impact on other teams.

 

6.

Financial Management Report - July 2017

Minutes:

The Board discussed the July Financial Management Report. There were limited financial resources available for this financial year and the pressure on financial resources was likely to remain significant through 2018-19 as some costs had been deferred into next year.

Catharine Bray reiterated the need for careful management of budgets and investment plans and accuracy and regularity of forecasting. Meetings were being arranged between Finance and all Service Heads prior to the start of the new term, so that by mid-September the best possible estimates of the amount and timing of future spend could be ascertained.

ACTION:

·      Heads to ensure that their staff have all the information and skills needed to forecast accurately. Training on the new finance system, NAV, could be provided as necessary by the Finance team.

 

7.

Corporate Prioritisation

Minutes:

The Management Board considered the staffing and resource pressures that the organisation was currently facing, including constitutional changes, the impact of Brexit, strategic priorities and goals. The Board discussed the list of identified resources in detail and challenged the arguments for each one.

ACTIONS:

·                Heads to reconcile the Directorate summaries with the resources list to show what is accounted for in budgets already, and update the list ahead of the Investment and Resources Board discussion on 17 August.

·                Heads to provide a ‘needs’ list to HR, outlining how a proposed partnership arrangement with the Northern Ireland Assembly might work in relation to projects or specific tasks in their areas.

·                Manon Antoniazzi to prepare terms of reference for the staff review to reflect the discussion and circulate to Management Board for input.

·                Non Gwilym to prepare a plan for communication with staff and Assembly Members in September.

 

7.

Any other business

Minutes:

The Board congratulated Elisabeth Jones on achieving the highest grade of excellence in her Welsh exam.