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Management Commentary
Statement of the Commission's and the Principal Accounting Officer's Responsibilities
Operating Cost Statement - Statement of Recognised Gains and Losses
Cashflow Statement - Statement of Operating Costs by Aim and Objectives
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Treasury Direction issued under Section 137 of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
The National Assembly for Wales Commission (the Commission) was established in May 2007 under Section 27 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (the 2006 Act). The Commission comprises the Presiding Officer, and four other Members of the National Assembly for Wales (the Assembly) elected by the Assembly. The Clerk to the Assembly (appointed under Section 26 of the 2006 Act) is the Chief Executive of the Commission and Principal Accounting Officer. The Chief Executive and other staff appointed under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the 2006 Act are referred to as “staff of the Assembly”. The Commission is independent of Welsh Assembly Government Ministers (Welsh Ministers).
The Assembly exists to debate on issues of importance to Wales. It holds the Welsh Ministers to account, passes legislation (Assembly Measures) and authorises the use of resources. It is answerable to the people of Wales.
The Commission has a duty to ensure that the Assembly is provided with the property, staff and services required for this purpose. The Assembly may also give general or specific directions for the purpose of, or in connection with, the Commission’s functions.
The Commission provides the infrastructure (including the Senedd and Ty Hywel, the Assembly offices) and the salaries and allowances which enable Members to undertake their duties both at the Assembly and in their local offices. It provides the facilities and staff to allow the Assembly and its committees to meet and encourages public awareness of and engagement with the democratic process.
Further information on the work of the Commission is available in the Annual Report published alongside these accounts at www.assemblywales.org and www.cynulliadcymru.org.
The Commissioners were:
Rt Hon Lord Elis Thomas AM, Presiding Officer 9 May 2007
William Graham AM 6 June 2007
Lorraine Barrett AM 6 June 2007
Peter Black AM 6 June 2007
Elin Jones AM 6 June 2007 (to 18 September 2007)
Christopher Franks AM from 18 September 2007
The Commission has agreed portfolio arrangements whereby Commissioners take a lead interest in specific issues. These were as follows:
Lord Elis Thomas AM – Chair of the Commission - with special responsibility for promoting democratic engagement, excellent leadership, developing the Assembly’s future legislative powers and external relations.
Lorraine Barrett AM – Commissioner for the Sustainable Assembly - this portfolio includes responsibility for equality; language; environment and carbon neutrality; sustainable procurement and estate management.
Peter Black AM – Commissioner for the Assembly and the Citizen – this portfolio includes looking at the quality of scrutiny and the legislative process; external communication; ICT; citizenship education;
Christopher Franks AM (Elin Jones AM to 18 September 2007) – Commissioner for the Improving Assembly - this portfolio includes looking at improving services to Members and citizens; involving stakeholders; strategic planning; and considering value for money.
William Graham AM – Commissioner for Assembly Resources - this portfolio includes considering the management of Assembly assets; Assembly people (including employees, contractors, services provided to support AMSS); the Commission’s budget; Members’ salaries and allowances; efficiency and good governance.
A Register of Members' Financial and Other Interests is published on the Assembly’s website.
The senior management employed by the Commission, and who comprised the Assembly Parliamentary Services Executive Board from the inception of the Commission and up to the date of signing the Accounts, were:
Claire Clancy |
Chief Executive and Clerk to the Assembly |
Dianne Bevan |
Chief Operating Officer |
Adrian Crompton |
Director of Assembly Business (from 14 May 2007) |
Peter Jones |
Director of Legal Services (to 29 October 2007) |
Keith Bush |
Director of Legal Services (from 8 October 2007) |
The Remuneration Report within these accounts contains information about the salary and pension entitlements of the named individuals.
The senior management hold their appointments on a permanent basis.
At the end of the financial year, the Commission employed 303.6 full time equivalent (fte) staff and a further 8.8 fte staff were seconded from other organisations.
The Commission appointed the following four independent advisers, all on a 3-year appointment basis, from 5 November 2007:
Mair Barnes
Richard Calvert
Tim Knighton
Professor Robert Pickard
Further background information on the independent advisers is available in the Annual Report published alongside these accounts at www.assemblywales.org and www.cynulliadcymru.org.
The principal activity of the Commission and its staff during the year was to support the work of the Assembly following the May 2007 elections and the assumption of its new functions conferred by the 2006 Act. The Commission’s purpose is to make the Assembly an accessible and effective parliamentary body that inspires the confidence of the people of Wales. To support this, five strategic goals and agreed working values have been established. The goals are:
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.
We will ensure that the Assembly has the best service, provided in the most effective way.
Further details of the Commission’s goals, values and main activities are available in the Annual Report published alongside these accounts at www.assemblywales.org and www.cynulliadcymru.org.
The net resource outturn for 2007-08 was £41.1million, of which £12.0million was for salaries and allowances of Assembly Members, including allowances for securing staff and constituency/area based accommodation to assist them in the discharge of their duties. The salary and related costs of staff employed by the Assembly Commission was £10.5million; accommodation, ICT and other running costs amounted to some £18.8million; with £0.2million rental income and merchandise sales from the Assembly Shop. This resulted in a net resource outturn of £0.7million (1.6%) below the approved net resource budget of £41.8million, with the surplus largely attributable to lower than anticipated asset depreciation charges. Further information on the resource outturn is provided in Note 2 to the accounts.
At 31 March 2008, the Commission’s net assets amounted to £67.3million.
These accounts also disclose expenditure of £0.594million in respect of the salary costs of the Presiding Officer, Deputy Presiding Officer, Auditor General for Wales and Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. These salaries are paid by the Assembly Commission but are a direct charge on the Welsh Consolidated Fund. Consequently, they are excluded from the net resource outturn.
The Commission’s strategic goals for the Third Term of the Assembly are central to decision making on resources, service delivery and service standards. We are beginning to test these more consistently through a wide public awareness survey and tailored satisfaction assessments aimed particularly at Assembly Members. The Commission has made plans for meeting new legislative powers by enhancing key resources, and is focussing upon promoting and widening engagement in devolution. Key early developments include the enhancement of the use of the Pierhead building and repositioning our ICT facilities to maintain the Assembly's position at the cutting edge of technology and building its capacity for digital democracy. The environmental impact of the Commission’s work is central to our planning for the foreseeable future. Recognising that there is public concern about how politicians are supported financially and that methods designed for different institutions do not necessarily meet the needs of Assembly Members, the Commission will establish an independent panel during 2008-09 to "report to the Assembly Commission on the best way of providing support for Assembly Members that is right for Wales, so underpinning future good governance and effective public service in Wales.”
The Commission has established a Risk and Benefits Management Framework to develop a risk-aware culture, managing risks appropriately, and realising opportunities for improvement. Further information is provided in the Statement on Internal Control within these accounts.
The Commission has a number of duties, such as equal opportunities, health and safety, promoting sustainable development, etc. Further information explaining how the Commission complies with these duties is published in the Annual Report alongside these accounts, at www.assemblywales.org and www.cynulliadcymru.org.
The treatment of pension liabilities and details of the relevant pension schemes are set out in the Statement of Accounting Policies within these accounts.
The Commission aims to comply with the UK Government’s Better Payment Code. The target is for payment to be made within agreed payment terms or 30 days of receipt of invoices not in dispute for goods and services received. Payments performance for the year averaged 78% paid on time, but for March 2008 97% performance was achieved.
There were no significant events occurring between the year-end and the completion of these accounts.
The Accounts are audited by the Auditor General for Wales in accordance with Section 137 of the 2006 Act. The agreed cost for the audit of the 2007-08 accounts is £49,250.
As Principal Accounting Officer, I have taken all necessary steps to ensure that I am aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are also aware of this information.
The Commission has established a Corporate Governance Committee to support the Commission and the Accounting Officer in monitoring and reviewing corporate governance, risk management and control systems. Membership of the Committee consists of three independent advisers (one of which is the Chair) and one Assembly Commissioner. Members to 31 March 2008 were William Graham AM and, appointed from 5 November 2007, Richard Calvert (Chair), Tim Knighton and Professor Robert Pickard.
A Remuneration Committee was established and met for the first time in January 2008. The Committee was established to assist the Assembly Commission and Chief Executive in ensuring that as an organisation, we meet the highest standards of probity and accountability for the use of public funds and specifically, for appraisal and remuneration polices and systems. Its membership is Tony Morgan, Chair of Audit at Geldards and retired senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Professor Robert Pickard, and Tim Knighton, two of our Independent Advisers. To date, it has recommended to the Assembly Commission a new pay framework for the Chief Executive and Directors since they were previously subject to the Senior Civil Service pay framework.
Claire Clancy |
Date: 10 July 2008 |
