Annual Review of the Determination for the Sixth Senedd

Annual Review of the Determination for the Sixth Senedd

Background

The Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd (the Board) is an independent body responsible for ensuring Members of the Senedd (Members) have the appropriate remuneration and resources available to them to undertake their role whilst demonstrating value for money for the public purse. Full details of the Board’s functions and responsibilities are set out in the Government of Wale Act 2006 and the National Assembly for Wales (Remuneration) Measure 2010.

 

The Board’s work is underpinned by a set of clearly-defined principles:

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>>>financial support and remuneration for Members should support the strategic purpose of the Senedd and facilitate the work of its Members;

>>>decisions must be appropriate within the context of Welsh earnings and the wider financial circumstances of Wales;

>>>the system of financial support for Members must be robust, clear, transparent, sustainable, and represent value for money for the taxpayer.

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The Board published its determination for the Sixth Senedd (PDF 884KB) on 4 June 2020, approximately one year before the Welsh general election in 2021, to inform potential candidates of the salary, support, and allowances to be available to them if elected.

 

The Board reviews the Determination on an annual basis to ensure that the provisions outlined continue to be relevant in changing circumstances (such as uprating of allowances for the next financial year), as well as to reflect the Board’s experience gained from the operation of its decisions. This review reflects the annual process undertaken by the Board, but it also considers matters that were outstanding from the previous review for the Sixth Senedd, as outlined in that review report. These considerations have been further influenced by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The following are the Terms of Reference for this review of the Determination for the Sixth Senedd:

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>>>the suitability of the level of support provided within the Determination;

>>>the flexibility, prescriptiveness, and accessibility of the provisions;

>>>the probity, accountability, reasonableness, and transparency of the expenditure made available;

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Methodology

To ensure that all decision are transparent, accountable, and reflect the wider financial circumstances of Wales, the board considered particular provisions in the Determination for the Sixth Senedd on the salaries, support, and allowances for Members against other sources of information including:

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>>>members’ use of the various allowances to date during the Fifth Senedd;

>>>comparisons with the support made available to elected representatives in the other UK legislatures, and;

>>>comparisons with various other measures within the Welsh public sector, and the wider economy of Wales.

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Business type: Committee Inquiry

Reason considered: Remuneration Board;

First published: 16/12/2020

Documents

Consultations