Agenda item

6.1     The Board considered a number of issues related to its Determination for the next financial year 2020-21.

6.2     The Board considered the rate for Office Costs Allowance and whether it remains appropriate for the next financial year (2020-21). The Board considered a number of factors including how much individual Members’ spend on office costs as well as inflationary measures.

6.3     Following an analysis of the information available, the Board agreed that Members’ spend on the allowance shows that the current allowance is generally sufficient for their needs and as such the Board decided to maintain the allowances of £18,260 and £4,912 for the next financial year.

6.4     The Board considered the Residential Accommodation Expenditure allowance for the forthcoming financial year and discussed a number of factors related to it including how much Members’ spend on accommodation, costs of the local rental market in Cardiff as well as inflationary measures. 

6.5     The Board agreed that the outer area allowance should be increased in line with the CPI rate from September 2019, which was 1.7 per cent. This would increase the allowance from £795 per month to £810 per month. This would be a total of £9,710 per annum.

6.6     The Board also discussed whether or not to make changes to the Essential Repairs allowance and the Carer’s Allowance. The Board decided that both the Essential Repairs Allowance and Carer’s Allowance was sufficient for the next financial year.

6.7     Members (and additional office holders) as well their support staff salaries are automatically adjusted in the April of each year by the change in the Annual Survey Hours and Earnings (ASHE) gross median earnings for full time employee jobs in Wales. The Board noted that the change for this year is 4.4 per cent, therefore salaries will be adjusted by this amount for the forthcoming financial year. The new salaries will be published next year in the Determination for 2020-21.

6.8     The Political Party Support Allowance has previously been adjusted annually by the same index as used for Members and support staff salaries. However, the allowance isn’t exclusively used to fund group support staff salaries; it is also used to fund other staffing costs such as travel as well as office equipment and materials. The Board is aware of the ever increasing total of this allowance and as such agreed to adjust the allowance total by a different method for the forthcoming financial year.

6.9     The Board proposed that the total amount that is spent on salaries (which is circa. 80 per cent of the total allowance in 2018-19) is increased by the ASHE index of 4.4 per cent, and that the remainder of the allowance is adjusted by the CPI rate for September 2019, which is 1.7 per cent. The Board believes that this is a fair change which would allow for support staff to receive the same salary increase as their colleagues, as well as ensure that other costs match the rate of inflation. The Board believes its proposal better reflects the actual usage of the allowance by Political Parties and Independent Members and that the increases as apportioned provide better value for money for

6.10   The Board considered issues relating to the Assembly changing its name and its impact on Members’ budgets and expenditure. The Board noted the Assembly Commission’s Explanatory Memorandum for the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill which makes an assumption that the Remuneration Board would advise Members not to make name-change related banner claims before the 2021 election.

6.11   The Board considered this assumption and agreed that it was reasonable that Members should not seek to claim back any costs related to the institution’s name change prior to the next Assembly election, due in May 2021. This includes costs for items such as signage, banners, web domains and websites.

6.12   Following the 2021 election, newly elected Members will have an allowance of up to £5,000 to establish their office and will not require any particular ring-fenced funding to give effect to the name change. A decision on how returning Members would be reimbursed for any relevant costs will be decided by the next Remuneration Board after the legislation has been enacted.

6.13   The Board agreed to consult on the proposals via the update letter for the November meeting with a view to considering responses in February 2020.

Action point:

-     The secretariat to issue the update letter following the November meeting including the proposals for the annual review of the Determination as soon as possible