Agenda and minutes
Venue: Conference Room A - Tŷ Hywel
Contact: Lleu Williams
Expected timing | No. | Item |
---|---|---|
(09.00 - 10.00) |
Chair's introduction Minutes: 1.1
The
Chair welcomed Board members to the meeting. 1.2 The Board welcomed John Chick to the meeting who had returned to the Assembly. The Chair also offered the Board’s thanks to Rebecca Hardwicke and Carys Rees for their work on behalf of the Board during John’s absence. 1.3
The
Board agreed the minutes of 23 November 2017 subject to minor changes. 1.4
The
Board agree to write to the Commission to request that the legislation to
change of the name of the Assembly to the Welsh Parliament also includes a
provision to change the Board’s name to the Independent Remuneration Board for
the Welsh Parliament. 1.5
The
Board noted that the resignation of Nathan Gill and subsequent decision that
his successor Mandy Jones AM would not be a member of the UKIP group in the
Assembly had no impact on the allowance for political parties. 1.6
The
Board agreed that the membership of the Assembly Member support staff
representative group membership should comprise of one support staff from each
political party and one representative from each trade union. 1.7
The
Board noted its meeting dates and the potential dates for the meetings of the
Representative Groups. Action points: The
Board to: - write to the Assembly Commission
outlining why it would like to change its name; - write to the Assembly Member support
staff Representative Group to confirm its membership. |
|
(10.00 - 10.30) |
Item for discussion: Review of staffing support for Members: Consideration of evidence Minutes: 2.1
The
Board considered the evidence it had heard to date in relation to the terms of
reference of the review. 2.2 The Board agreed to arrange further interviews with Members and support staff, subject to availability, to ensure its sample is representative of both groups. Action points: The
secretariat to: - contact the offices of Member to
identify suitable interview date; - prepare a thematic summary of all the
evidence received to date for the Board’s consideration at its next meeting. |
|
(10.45 - 11.30) |
Item for discussion: The report by the Welsh Governance Centre on the barriers to and incentives for running for election to the Assembly Minutes: 3.1
The
Chair welcomed Dr Huw Pritchard, who was representing the Wales Governance
Centre, to the meeting. Apologies had been received from Dr Diana Stribu. 3.2 The Chair invited Dr Pritchard to provide an overview of the draft report to the Board and to respond to the points of clarification raised by the Board. Dr Pritchard agreed to respond to further points of clarification via email. 3.3
The
Board agreed to consider how it would respond to the recommendation in the
report at its March meeting. 3.4
Both
Dr Pritchard and the Board agreed to discuss the publication and dissemination
strategy at a later date. Action point: The
secretariat to be the point of contact between the Board and the Wales
Governance Centre with regards to any points of clarification raised. |
|
(11.30 - 13.30) |
Review of staffing support for Members: Engagement event with Support Staff Minutes: 4.1
The
Board considered the issues raised during its engagement event with support
staff. |
|
(13.45 – 15.45) |
Item for decision: Annual review of the Determination 2018-19 Minutes: Support staff salaries for 2018-19 5.1
The
Board agreed to propose an increase in support staff salaries for 2018-19 by
2.3 per cent in line with the provisional Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
figures for 2017 which were released in October 2017 5.2 The Board agreed to use the ASHE figure to ensure a consistent approach with last year’s pay review. Office cost allowance for 2018-19 5.3
The
Board considered the various factors which affect office costs for Members
including location, inflation, specialist equipment and Assembly Commission
policies. 5.4
The
Board agreed to use to use the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2017,
which was 3 per cent, as a base rate to uprate the allowance. This follows the
same principles as last year’s uprate. 5.5
However,
to accommodate concerns raised as a result of the Commission’s decision not to
fund Members caseworker system centrally and the extended requirements of the
Official Languages Scheme, the Board agreed to propose an increase of 5 per
cent in the allowance for 2018-19. 5.6
The
Board also considered an allowance that Members can access to meet the
reasonable costs of any security enhancements and agreed to propose an uncapped
allowance is created for this purpose. However, access to this fund would be
subject to Members adhering to specific criteria. Residential Accommodation Expenditure for 2018-19 5.7
The
Board considered the Residential Accommodation Expenditure for 2018-19 and
agreed that the current allowance for outer area Members of £9,200 per
annum/£775 per calendar month, the maximum amount for essential repairs of £882
per annum and the maximum amount of rental costs for Members with dependents of
£120 per month should be maintained Consultation 5.8
The
Board agreed to issue a consultation on all the above proposals. The closing
date for consultation would be 2 March 2018. 5.9
The
Board will consider the responses to the consultation at its March meeting. Action points: The
secretariat to: - issue and promote the consultation; - prepare a summary of the consultation
responses for consideration at the March meeting. |
|
(15.45 - 16.30) |
Item for discussion: The report by the Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform: Creating a Parliament that Works for Wales Minutes: 6.1
The
Board considered the report by the Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform, A
Parliament that Works for Wales, and received an updated on the Commission’s
intention on taking the work forward. 6.2
The
Board agreed to await the outcome of the public consultation and any subsequent
legislation which may be introduced as a result of the consultation before
considering the implications on its work. |
|
Papers to note Minutes: 7.1
The
Board noted: -
the
correspondence from the Finance Committee regarding its inquiry into the
Remuneration Board’s Determination Underspend; -
the
report by the Expert Panel on Assembly Electoral Reform, A Parliament that
works for Wales. |