There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Board recognised Mike Snook’s retirement and wished him well, agreeing how much he would be missed.

Craig Stephenson would draft a note of the Management Board discussion for the news page.

The minutes of the 14 April Management Board meeting were agreed as a correct record. 

Oral item.

The Board reflected on the Assembly election and the early days of the Fifth Assembly, including initial meetings with the new Llwydd (Presiding Officer). New and returning Members had fed back very positively regarding the friendly and professional welcome and oath taking arrangements that had been in place for their arrival.

The Board noted the final transition dashboard and agreed how well everyone had done to achieve so much.

A further draft of the strategy was reviewed to assure the Board that it reflected discussions, linked with the budget and captured the right level of ambition whilst maintaining continuity. The Board discussed some minor amendments but otherwise agreed it was good.

The strategy would be presented to the Commission at their meeting on 30 June.

It was agreed that draft Commission papers would not be published internally and Dave Tosh would clarify the Management Board Terms of Reference.

Oral item.

The Annual report and accounts were in a near final position and the Board were asked to advise of any comments by midday 13 May, ahead of the final draft going to Wales Audit Office for their review. The Board praised Nia Morgan and the Finance team, Chris Warner and others who have worked on the report.

The Board received the HR Dashboard to note and were advised that a full discussion on absence management would be held at the Board meeting on 20 June. Allowances were not included in the dashboard as it had been agreed to keep the simplicity of the dashboard, however, this was part of the discussions between HR Business Partners and service Heads.

The Board also received the Finance reports for March and April to note. Nia Morgan advised the Board that the election costs were still within budget, pending the AMSS redundancy costs, which were not yet available.

In order to progress the finance system project, the Board were asked to feedback on the coding structure to Lisa Bowkett as soon as possible.

The Research team had published today their ‘Key issues’ report.

Claire Clancy asked Heads to thank their teams and let them know how she was very proud of their work in relation to the Fifth Assembly transition activities.

The next Management Board meeting would be on 20 June.