Agenda and minutes

Paper 1  - Minutes from 23 June meeting

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

• The Board agreed the minutes of the 23 June meeting.

Action:

§  Secretariat to publish the minutes for the meeting held on 23 June 2025.

Paper 2 – Part One and Part Two proposals: Decisions

Annex - EQIA

§  The Board decided to implement all of its proposals, apart from one, as set out in its Part One and Part Two consultation documents, with some amendments.

§  The Board decided to implement its proposals for Members’ Remuneration.

§  The Board decided to implement the majority of its proposals for Overnight Accommodation. The Board is minded to agree its proposal that all Members with a main residence in the Inner Area are entitled to claim an overnight budget equivalent to 6 nights’ overnight accommodation, subject to the ongoing pilot scheme.

§  The Board decided to implement its proposals for Support Staff Travel, but wished to add further clarification that such journeys are only for occasional travel to Tŷ Hywel for staff based in constituency offices.

§  The Board decided to implement its proposals for Constituency Office and Engagement with a slight amendment for returning Members who do not set up a new office. All Members who set up a new office will be able to claim £6500 for office start up related costs, however returning Members who retain in their offices will be able to claim up to £2500 for refresh costs.

§  The Board decided to implement its proposals for Staffing Support.

§  The Board agreed the proposals for changes to the Determination’s provisions on the replacement of the ‘Political Parties Support Allowance’ with ‘Senedd Group Support’. the Board intends to clarify that the assumption, as now, is that Group Support would predominantly be used to employ staff with any remaining balance used for time-limited external support such as policy development or research.

§  the Board agreed that the per Member ‘building block’ for the new distribution formula will be £60,000 from the start of the Seventh Senedd. The Board noted the Business Committee’s ongoing review of Standing Orders, but has made its decision on the assumption that group sizes in the Seventh Senedd will be at the lower range of the Future Senedd Committee’s options.

§  the Board agreed to introduce a funding ‘floor’ for groups represented in a coalition government, in recognition that the ‘government reduction’ applied to the per Member formula could impact on smaller coalition groups to the extent that it would limit their capacity to employ an adequate group office. The floor will be based on a budget of 3 times the highest salaries of the most senior roles in a group office (Chief of Staff, Senior Advisor and Band 1) and would apply for groups of 18 Members or below.

Paper 3 – Communications Plan

Paper 3a - Part Two Consultation Report

Paper 3b – Draft Summary of the Determination

Paper 3c - Draft Annex to the Determination

§  The Board agreed to publish its decisions in two stages.

§  Decisions will be published by the end of July on the Independent Remuneration Board’s website through the following publications;

o   correspondence to Members and the Senedd Commission.

o   The publication of a Part Two consultation report.

o   Summary of the Determination for the Seventh Senedd

o   Annexing of the Board’s decisions into the current Determination.

§  The publication of a draft full Determination will take place in late Autumn, for consultation on the drafting, clarity and interpretation.

§  The Board agreed that budgetary assumptions will be included and published in the Commission’s draft Budget at the end of September.

§  The individual salaries and budgets decided by the Board will however be published in the Summary document and annex to the Determination.

Paper 4 – Staffing review support

• The Board agreed its proposal that it would provide Members with up to £1,275 per Member for specialist external advice (advice that cannot be obtained from the Commission) on implementing the pay and grading review during 2025-26.
• The Board noted that as it has already made a determination relating to staffing support for 2025-26, this new provision requires an exceptional determination. This will be laid alongside the new annex to the Determination (as above) by the end of July.

Paper 5 – Covering paper for Draft Annual Report 2024-25

Paper 5a – Draft annual report

Paper 5b – Mid-term review update

§  The Board agreed its Annual Report for 2024-25, and noted that it had concluded its action plan for the Mid-Term Effectiveness Review. The Annual Report will be published on the Board’s website by the end of July.

Action:

Secretariat to arrange publication and laying of the Annual Report.

Paper 6 – Board Budget 2026/27

§  The Board considered the draft budget for 2026-27 and agreed that, following further work between the clerking team and Senedd Commission officials, the final budget is approved by the Chair and submitted to the Senedd Commission for consideration as part of its budgetary planning process.

Paper 7 – Update paper

§  The Board noted updates on various matters relevant to its work and also its forward work programme.

§  The Board noted correspondence received and issued since the last meetings.

§  The Board noted updates on the McCloud remedy, and the new Policy Advisory Group for the Support Staff Handbook.

AOB