Who We Are and What We Do
The Government of Wales Act 2006 created two separate legal bodies: the Welsh Assembly Government (the executive) and the National Assembly for Wales (the legislature). A third body, the National Assembly for Wales Commission (Assembly Commission), was also established.
60 Assembly Members
Scrutinises the Welsh Assembly Government
Passes legislation
Assembly Commission
Provides property, resources and staff to the National Assembly for Wales
Welsh Assembly Government
First Minister and Cabinet
Policy development and service delivery
The Assembly Commission exists to support the National Assembly for Wales to ensure its successful functioning as a democratic body. This involves a broad range of activities including:
Providing Assembly Members (AMs) with the accommodation, facilities, equipment and information they need to do their jobs;
Supporting Assembly Committees and Plenary by providing procedural, legal and other advice;
Providing translation, interpretation and reporting services which ensure the Assembly can operate in English and Welsh; and
Providing the public with information and education about the parliamentary role of the Assembly and by arranging visits to and from the Assembly.
The Assembly Commission operates under the guidance and direction of the Presiding Officer and four other Assembly Members drawn from the four political parties. Day-to-day operations are delegated to the Chief Executive and Clerk to the Assembly.
The Assembly Commission’s Purpose and Strategic Goals
This Scheme is linked to the Assembly Commission’s purpose which is "to make the Assembly an accessible and effective parliamentary body that inspires the confidence of the people of Wales”.
Our Goals:
We will promote and widen engagement in devolution;
We will show unity, leadership and a bold response to constitutional change;
In all our work, we will demonstrate respect, probity and good governance;
We will work sustainably; and
We will ensure that the Assembly has the best service, provided in the most effective way.
Strategic Equality Policy Statement
The Assembly Commission is wholly committed to ensuring that as an employer and service provider, we are an exemplar organisation in our promotion of equality, human rights and provision of accessible services. Our Statement sets out how we will take forward our equality agenda and includes specific reference to this Equality Scheme:
Our VisionThe Assembly Commission provides resources, property and staff to enable the National Assembly for Wales to function as a democratic institution. Our vision is to be a leading organisation in our commitment to promoting equality, valuing diversity and respecting human rights in our capacity as an employer and as an organisation that provides support for Assembly Members and interacts with the public. We believe that equality of opportunity for all is a basic human right and actively oppose all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination. We strive to create an accessible and effective parliamentary body, which engages with and respects all of the people of Wales. This policy is linked to our Purpose and Strategic Goals, Equality Scheme and our employment policies. Our ValuesThe Assembly Commission:
How we plan to achieve our vision and promote our values:
How we will monitor our progress in achieving this:Our Equality Scheme will be reviewed every three years and we will publish an Annual Equality Report which will detail our progress in meeting our equality objectives. This Report will be scrutinised annually by the National Assembly’s Equality of Opportunity Committee. |
The Scheme and Action Plan are underpinned by our purpose, equality vision and values. We are aware of our legal equality obligations but we want to go beyond this with a best practice approach across all the equality strands. Our Action Plan sets out in detail how we aim to achieve these equality objectives.
Assessment of our Key Functions in Relation to Equality
We have assessed our policies/functions with regards to their relevance to the promotion of equality which is at Appendix 3.
Equality and Access Team
The Equality and Access Team is based in the Corporate Unit of the Assembly Commission; the Corporate Unit provides support to the Chief Executive, Directors and Assembly Commission. The Team is a source of advice to staff and Assembly Members regarding access and other equality issues. The Team also provides the strategic direction for planning equality and human rights issues and liaises with service areas across the organisation.
Equality Steering Group
The Assembly Commission has an Equality Steering Group which consists of equality leads/representatives who are members of staff (at all levels) representing their particular service areas. The Group meets quarterly and is chaired by the Chief Executive.
The role of the leads is to raise awareness of equality and human rights issues amongst their colleagues and to monitor progress in achieving equality objectives in their service areas. The Group has contributed to the development of this Equality Scheme alongside the service areas’ input.
Responsibility and Accountability
The Chief Executive and Directors are responsible and accountable for the delivery of our equality objectives. Heads of Service identify their service area’s respective equality outcomes and actions when they draw up their service area business plans which are signed-off by Directors.
Monitoring and Implementation
Heads of Service, via Directors report twice a year to the Equality and Access Team on progress in achieving equality objectives for their areas and this information will be included in the Assembly Commission’s Annual Equality Report which is published and scrutinised by the Assembly’s Equality of Opportunity Committee.
Review
This Equality Scheme covers the period November 2008 to November 2011. We will also externally review our Equality Scheme every three years.
