Agenda and minutes
Venue: Remote - Digital. View directions
Contact: Clerk: Kathryn Hughes Deputy Clerk: Buddug Saer
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Introductions, apologies and declaration of interests Minutes: 1.1
The
Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, the main focus of which was to consider
items relating to the Commission’s Annual Report and Accounts. There were no apologies.
Suzy Davies was attending in her capacity as Commissioner because the new
Commissioners for the Sixth Senedd had yet to be appointed. |
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Minutes of 23 April, actions and matters arising Minutes: ARAC
(03-21) Paper 1 – Draft Minutes of 24 April 2021 ARAC
(03-21) Paper 2 – Summary of actions 2.1
The minutes of the 24 April meeting were agreed.
In response to a question around the internal audit review of ICT asset
management, Gareth Watts confirmed that the work had not yet been completed and
that the report would be circulated out of committee. He also clarified that he
would be working with the Members’ Business Support team on the scope of the
remaining parts of the review and would factor in a suggestion from Suzy to
include discussions with departing Members.
2.2
The Chair noted the completion of actions in
the summary table and advised that Suzy’s reflections on her membership of the
Committee had been discussed with Manon. |
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G&A update report (including a review of progress on implementing recommendations and actions arising from previous reports) Oral update Minutes: Oral
item 3.1 Gareth Watts provided an oral update
on progress against outstanding audit work. Fieldwork for the audit of
Members’ expenses had been completed and used by Audit Wales as part of their
audit of the Commission’s accounts. He would circulate a report to the
Committee once completed. He would also be working on a wider asset management
review as well as an audit to provide assurances required by the Chief
Executive as Accounting Officer relating to the Welsh Consolidated Fund. He had
also agreed with the Chair that he would present an update on the
implementation of audit recommendations to the Committee at its July meeting. 3.2 The Chair invited Gareth Watts to
outline his assurances in relation to the Annual Report and Accounts. He confirmed the moderate level of assurance
on governance, risk management and internal audit provided in his Annual Report
and Opinion in April. He confirmed he was content from an internal audit
perspective that the accounts could be signed.
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Consider External Audit opinion (ISA 260 Report) for the financial year 2020-21 ARAC (03-21) Paper 3 - Paper to follow Minutes: ARAC
(03-21) Paper 3 – ISA260 Report 4.1
The Chair welcomed Ann-Marie Harkin and Gareth
Lucey to the meeting. 4.2
Audit Wales (AW) commented on the superb support
received from Nia Morgan and the Finance team and thanked everyone involved for
all their efforts in what was the second year of completing the audit remotely.
Ann-Marie noted that the completion of the accounts so early was a great
achievement with very few issues arising. Ann-Marie apologised for the
confusion over who would sign the accounts and confirmed that she would be
signing them on behalf of the Auditor General for Wales due to his previous
employment at the Commission. 4.3
She highlighted one uncorrected misstatement of
£273,000 for what Audit Wales considered to be misclassification of capital
expenditure. Ann-Marie acknowledged that this was a grey area in accounting
terms but Audit Wales technical team had advised that it be recorded as capital
as opposed to revenue expenditure. She advised that this was well below the
threshold of materiality and had no impact on the audit opinion. 4.4
Audit Wales intended to issue an unqualified audit
opinion on the accounts. 4.5
Nia welcomed the opportunity to raise her concerns
with the Committee about what she believed was the inconsistent approach taken
by Audit Wales on this type of spend. She highlighted that, in previous years,
more significant spend on building improvements had been correctly stated in
the accounts as capital spend. She had discussed the issue at length with her
team and Audit Wales and considered this to be a disagreement as opposed to an
error as implied in the ISA260 report. 4.6
Nia also wanted to record her thanks for the
phenomenal effort by members of her team to achieve such a successful and
timely outcome. 4.7
The Chair thanked Nia and Audit Wales for the
courteous and diplomatic way in which they had expressed their difference of
opinion and acknowledged the frustration around the inconsistency and late
identification of the issue, particularly given its low value. He encouraged
both parties not to let this issue adversely affect their good relationship and
to liaise closely on the treatment of future investment in the estate in the
accounts. The Chair requested details of the advice provided by the Audit Wales
technical team to inform the future treatment of this type of spend. Whilst
noting this was not standard practice, Audit Wales agreed to share the
technical advice with the Commission. The Chair welcomed the unqualified audit
opinion and the early completion of the audit which was an excellent
achievement. He would welcome feedback from the lesson learned sessions at the
Committee’s autumn meeting including details of any future discussions.. 4.8
The Chair was pleased to hear that the Auditor
General for Wales would sign the accounts next year and would arrange to meet
with him privately over the summer.
Ann-Maire assured the Committee that he had been fully sighted on the accounts. Actions · Audit Wales to share advice from technical team ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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Consider the Commission's Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2020-21 (to recommend the signing of the accounts) Minutes: ARAC (03-21) Paper 4 - Annual Report
and Accounts 2020-21 – cover paper ARAC (03-21) Paper 4 -
Annex A – Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21 5.1 The Chair invited officials to introduce
this item and highlight any area for discussion on the Commission’s Annual
Report and Accounts. Arwyn Jones noted his thanks to Victoria Paris for
co-ordinating its production to a tight timescale and for the contributions
from colleagues from across the organisation. He also noted his thanks to Suzy
Davies and the other current Commissioners for their input and approval of the
report. 5.2 Arwyn highlighted that the focus in
this year’s report was on turning the different ways of working as a result of
the pandemic into business as usual. This included details of planning for
Sixth Senedd with a workforce which was as productive and flexible as possible
in the services provided to Members. He invited comments from Committee
members. 5.3 The Committee thanked the staff for
their work on the very detailed and thorough report. There was a discussion
about the length and readability of the report and acknowledgement from
Committee members that its content was based on statutory and good practice
reporting requirements. There was also a discussion around plans for future
digital versions to improve its readability and to facilitate reach to a wider
audience. 5.4 Manon agreed that it was a detailed
document, and reminded the Committee of the positive feedback received from the
Senedd’s Finance and Public Accounts
Committees on their scrutiny of previous reports. 5.5 Arwyn welcomed the constructive
feedback on the report and noted that preparation would commence earlier next
year to accommodate plans for digital and interactive presentation. 5.6 In relation to the accounts, Nia
highlighted that a breakdown of election-related costs had been included in the
table of net resources outturn in the revised version presented to the
Committee. She also highlighted the inclusion of the Financial Review section
in the report’s narrative which was a new FREM requirement. 5.7 The Chair gave credit for a very
satisfactory set of accounts and acknowledged their close management. He
expressed how impressed he was with the content, quality and accuracy of the
Annual Report and Accounts, especially given its early production, the
disruption caused by the ongoing pandemic and the small team involved. 5.8 The Committee also wished to record
their satisfaction that the pension fund had moved away from investment in oil
and gas companies to more sustainable options. They had also appreciated sight
of the correspondence with the Finance and Public Accounts Committees on
Covid-related spend. 5.9 The Committee recommended to the
Accounting Officer that the financial statements for 2020-21 should be signed.
An electronic signature would be added before laying and publishing the report. |
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COVID-19 - Corporate update Oral update Minutes: Oral
update 6.1 Dave Tosh provided an update to the
Committee since restrictions had been eased. Limits on use of meeting spaces
had been relaxed as far as possible and Party groups had begun to meet onsite.
A number of services were being resumed including catering services and risk
assessments were being carried out on the re-introduction of other services for
Members, their support staff and other staff who were using the estate. 6.2 The Covid Resilience and Monitoring
Group (CRAM) continued to meet weekly in order to monitor changes to
restrictions and manage the implementation of the Commission’s response in
terms of opening up services. He outlined the services being re-introduced and
reported that hybrid plenary sessions continued to work well. He also outlined the effectiveness of
measures such as one-way systems and the cleaning regimes and advised that
lateral flow testing would be available to staff using the estate, especially as
events and public activity started to resume. 6.3 A survey would be issued to all staff
to gather information on their preferred future working arrangements when
restrictions allowed a return to the estate. This would provide service heads
with information on which to base decisions around accommodating preferences
and balance a flexible approach with business needs. From a wellbeing
perspective, staff appeared to be coping remarkably well, although there were
signs of pressure and fatigue starting to become evident. 6.4 Based on her experience of Committee
membership, Suzy urged officials to carefully consider the preference of
witnesses when attending meetings if hybrid committees were to become a
permanent arrangement. She also encouraged
officials to survey and engage with Members’ support staff, especially when
considering changes such as telephony and other equipment before final
decisions were made. 6.5 Arwyn then outlined plans for the
official Royal opening. Although a date was yet to be agreed, discussions were
ongoing with the Palaces, Members and the media. The planned event would
feature live and pre-recorded performances, the filming of which would take
place over the summer in line with easing of restrictions. 6.6 The Committee agreed that the MS Teams
platform had worked well for them, and requested as much notice as possible if
there were plans to move to an on-site or hybrid approach. |
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Departure Summary Minutes: ARAC
(03-21) Paper 6 – Departure Summary 7.1 The Committee noted three departures
from normal procurement
procedures. |
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Corporate Risk Minutes: ARAC
(03-21) Paper 5 – Corporate Risk ARAC
(03-21) Paper 5 – Annex A - Summary
Corporate Risk Register ARAC
(03-21) Paper 5 – Annex B – Corporate Risks plotted 8.1 Dave introduced this item. He outlined
the proposed removal of the risk around the Senedd Elections 2021 transition
from the Commission’s Corporate Risk Register and the proposed reassessment of
the Coronavirus risk by Executive Board. 8.2 Siwan provided an update on the
ongoing assessment of risks around constitutional change and Senedd reform. She
added that the risks would focus on the Commission’s response to political
decisions which would begin to emerge as Senedd business got underway following
the election. 8.3 Dave reminded the Committee that this
was a summary report of the status of the risks and that the Directors and the
Executive Board regularly reviewed more detailed reports. In response to a
question around ownership, Dave also clarified that each corporate risk was
owned by a lead Director with input from the relevant Heads of Service. 8.4 In relation to the risks around
Standards of Conduct for Members of the Senedd, Ann Beynon asked whether there
was merit in the Committee engaging with the new Standards Commissioner. The
Chair noted that, as the Commissioner was an independent office holder, the
focus for the Committee should be on reviewing the management of risks in
relation to the support provided by the Commission. Siwan reminded the
Committee that the focus of this risk had been on how Commission officials had
supported the Senedd to maintain public confidence in the standards regime,
including the revised Code of Conduct for Members of the Senedd and appointment
of a new Standards Commissioner. She added that, as these were now both in
place, the focus would shift to supporting the Standards of Conduct Committee,
once established, to carry out a review of the complaints procedure. 8.5 Manon added that, in response to
feedback during the induction of new Members, a briefing was being prepared to
clarify the roles and remits of the Standards Commissioner and Remuneration
Board. This would also include details of the Accounting Officer rules. 8.6 Suzy welcomed any clarity on the
Commission’s duty to support the independent Remuneration Board. 8.7 In response to a question from Suzy
around the budget and support for the Standards Commissioner, Siwan reminded
the Committee that it was a statutory requirement for the Commission to provide
resources to the Commissioner’s office. She explained that a Protocol was being
drawn up with the new Commissioner based on the principle of a continued
flexible approach, whereby Commission staff were seconded to their office. 8.8 In relation to the risk around
Dignity and Respect for Commission staff, Suzy suggested some evaluation by
internal audit on the effectiveness of training developed to provide staff with
the confidence to challenge behaviour which officials agreed to consider. 8.9 In response to points raised by Aled in relation to political decisions around Senedd reform, Siwan provided assurance that the UK constitutional framework, including ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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Critical examination of one identified or emerging risk - transition to the Sixth Senedd Oral item Minutes: Oral update 9.1 The Chair invited Siwan to introduce
this item, and welcomed Sulafa Thomas, Head of Commission and Members’ Support to
the meeting. Siwan reminded the Committee that the risk had been added to the
Corporate Risk Register to reflect the potential impact of the Coronavirus
pandemic and the uncertainties around the date of the election, the dissolution
period and transition to the Sixth Senedd. She advised that the risk would now
be closed with residual risks around ongoing delivery and transition being
managed at a service level. 9.2 Siwan described how effective
engagement with bodies including the Commission, Business Committee and the
Remuneration Board had informed scenario planning and decisions and guidance
around the election period and dissolution. Updated guidance was issued to
Members and staff in a co-ordinated and timely manner. 9.3 Siwan outlined how the various strands
of work had been delivered. This ranged from planning for dissolution;
communications around the election, particularly for 16 and 17 year olds voting
for the first time; providing guidance to non-returning Members and induction
for new and returning Members; and supporting early Senedd business. In terms
of governance, Siwan added that early planning, the establishment of scenario
planning and working groups and a dedicated project co-ordinator had been key
factors in successful delivery. She added that existing governance structures
had been utilised to carry out risk assessments for activities such as
oath-taking which had been carried out in person and virtually according to the
preferences of Members. 9.4 Despite the challenges posed by the
pandemic, arrangements to support early business were successful. This included
a plenary meeting on 12 May to appoint a Presiding Officer, Deputy Presiding
Officer and nominate the First Minister, as well as support for Members to
employ staff and kit out offices. There had also been 100% turnout for Members’
induction. The majority of feedback from Members had been very positive and
some immediate improvements had been made in response to issues identified. 9.5 The work around transition to the
Sixth Senedd was ongoing in terms of the appointment of office holders, the
formation of new Senedd Committees and plans for the Royal opening. Siwan
offered to share closure reports, which would include details of lessons
learned, with the Committee in due course. These would take account of a
proposed review by the Electoral Commission. 9.6 In response to a question from the
Chair about planning for a potential recall of the Senedd and its Committees
during the election period, Siwan outlined how officials had worked with the
Business Committee, the Commission and the Welsh Government to establish clear
criteria for this eventuality. It was clear that the only circumstances in
which this would become necessary were for matters relating to Covid and any
delay to the election date. Clarity was also provided on rules around the use
of staff and resources in such circumstances. Siwan explained that some
officials had been on standby over the election period should a recall have
become necessary. |
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Committee's Annual Report to the Commission and Accounting Officer Minutes: ARAC (03-21) Paper 7 – ARAC Annual
Report
10.1 The Chair introduced this item by
thanking Kathryn Hughes for her outstanding work in the drafting of the report.
His main areas of focus when presenting to the Commission in July would be the
organisation’s remarkable reaction to the pandemic, especially the resilience
of those involved and the Commission’s approach to cyber security. 10.2 Ann felt that inclusion of dignity
and respect in the revised Code of Conduct for Members of the Senedd should be
celebrated, and noted this may be covered in the Commission’s Remuneration,
Engagement and Workforce Advisory Committee’s annual report. 10.3 The Committee approved the report for
presentation to the Commission and thanked the clerking team for drafting such
a comprehensive account of activity. |
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Forward work programme Minutes: ARAC (02-21) Paper 16 – Forward Work
Programme 11.1 The Chair encouraged Committee
members to suggest agenda items for future meetings. At the July meeting, an updated Assurance
Framework would be presented as well as an item to discuss engagement with the
new Commission to determine their risk appetite. 11.2 Committee members suggested
consideration be given to engaging with the following, including the option of
possible attendance at future meetings: ·
Auditor
General for Wales ·
Standards
Commissioner ·
Chair
of the Remuneration Board ·
Experts
in cyber security and IT infrastructure. 11.3
They
also suggested information on the planned maintenance of the estate as well as
the future accommodation strategy be shared with the Committee, including the
upcoming negotiations on the lease of Tŷ Hywel. |
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Any Other Business Oral item Minutes: Oral
item 12.1 No other business was raised.
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