Agenda and minutes

·       Paper 1 – Board Planning (paper to follow)

·       The Board met on Wednesday 15 October for a Board Planning session and to discuss their End of Term Report.

·       The Board agreed the report would be published later this year.

·       Paper 2 - Minutes of the last meeting

·       The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted it was Gareth Llewellyn’s first Board meeting, and the first meeting of the new Board.

·       Hugh Widdis had sent his apologies for the meeting.

·       The Board agreed the minutes of the 11 September meeting with a small correction to the wording.

Action:

·       Secretariat to publish the minutes for the meeting held on 11 September 2025.

·       Paper 3 - Commission Seventh Senedd Planning – Briefing paper for the Independent Remuneration Board

·       The Board received an update on the Commission’s operational preparations for the Seventh Senedd from Sulafa Thomas, Head of Commission and Member Support. The update covered preparations for the staffing review implementation, the induction and support for new Members and their staff, and security support planning for the Seventh Senedd.  

·       The Board noted the Commission’s request for feedback about the Board’s involvement in Member induction and confirmed it will respond to these after the meeting.

Action:

·       Secretariat to draft correspondence to the Commission regarding their feedback questions.

·       Paper 4 - Consultation on the Rules and Guidance of the Use of Senedd Resources

·       Annex A – Consultation

·       Annex B – Draft changes

·       The Board noted the Commission’s consultation on the Rules and Guidance of the use of Senedd Resources and discussed the areas where the rules and references included in the Determination are affected.

·       The Board considered matters to include in its consultation response and agreed to consider and approve a draft response via email, for submission by the closing date of the consultation. 

Action:

·       Secretariat to submit the Board’s consultation response ahead of the closing date on 2 November.

·       Paper 5 - Economic forecast (paper to follow)

·       The Board noted the economic update.

·       Paper 6A - Determination for the Seventh Senedd: Policy Matters

·       Paper 6B - Drafting of the Determination: Principles and Draft Chapters

·       Annex A – Current Determination Principles

·       Annex B – Comparison of Principles

·       Annex C – Draft chapters

·       Annex D - Letter from the Chief Executive and Clerk of the Senedd

·       The Board noted it had already taken and published its core policy decisions for the Determination for the Seventh Senedd in July. It considered some further policy matters and data relating to inflationary uplifts for 2026-27. The Board agreed to receive further information at December’s meeting.

·       The Board considered a detailed review of the principles in the draft Determination alongside comparisons from other UK parliamentary remuneration bodies.

·       The Board reviewed the latest revised draft Chapters of the draft Determination, which reflected policy decisions previously taken by the Board, and the drafting style introduced through the simplification review.

·       The Board confirmed that it will publish a full draft Determination for the Seventh Senedd for consultation in December. The Board will seek views on the clarity and interpretation of its drafting alongside the remaining policy changes.

·       Paper 7 – Review of staffing support for Members

·       The Board considered its role in setting the employment framework for staff employed by Members of the Senedd, including mandating the employment contract and policies relating to employment matters.

·       The Board noted various staffing matters identified through previous consultation responses and recent feedback from Representative Groups.

·       Paper 8 - Update paper

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