These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the 2007–08 Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) suitably adapted for the constitution of the National Assembly for Wales and the Assembly Commission as specified by the Government of Wales Act 2006. The accounting policies contained in the FReM follow UK generally accepted accounting practice for companies (UK GAAP) to the extent that it is meaningful and appropriate to the public sector.

Where the FReM permits a choice of accounting policy, the accounting policy which has been judged to be most appropriate to the particular circumstances of the Commission for the purpose of giving a true and fair view has been selected. The Commission’s accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items considered material in relation to the accounts.

The year ending 31 March 2008 was the first accounting year for the Commission. In accordance with the Treasury direction, the accounts for 2007-08 incorporate the transactions for the Assembly Parliamentary Service from 1 April 2007 before the inception of the Assembly Commission in May 2007. There are no comparative figures for the previous financial year, except for balance sheet entries.

1.1 Accounting convention

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention modified to account for the revaluation of fixed assets.

1.2 Tangible Fixed Assets

The minimum level for capitalisation of a tangible fixed asset is £5,000 inclusive of irrecoverable VAT. The IT threshold is where the grouped value of related asset purchases exceeds £5,000. Title to all property is held by the Commission. Land and buildings are to be restated at current cost using professional valuations at a minimum of every 5 years. Other tangible fixed assets are not revalued as, in the opinion of the Commission, the amounts involved would not be material.

1.3 Intangible Fixed Assets

Software licences are capitalised as intangible fixed assets and amortised on a straight line basis over the expected life of the asset (3 or 5 years).

1.4 Donated Assets

Donated assets are capitalised at current value on receipt and are normally revalued in the same way as purchased assets. The value of donated assets is reflected in the donated asset reserve, which is credited with the value of the original donation and subsequent revaluations.

1.5 Depreciation

Freehold land, historic documents and records and works of art are not depreciated. Depreciation is provided at a rate calculated to write off the valuation of buildings and other tangible fixed assets by equal instalments over their estimated useful lives. Asset lives are normally as follows:

Buildings:	50 years or an alternative provided by a qualified valuer.
Fixed plant:	10 years, or an alternative provided by the supplier at the time of purchase or valuation.
ICT related equipment:	3 years
Fixtures , fittings & office equipment:	5 years
Intangible assets (software):	3 or 5 years
Motor Vehicles	4 years

Donated assets

Assessed on receipt of asset

1.6 Realised Element of Depreciation from Revaluation Reserve

Depreciation is charged on the revalued amount of assets. An element of the depreciation therefore may arise due to an increase in valuation and would be in excess of the depreciation that would be charged on the historical cost of assets. The amount relating to such an excess would be an unrealised gain on valuation, and is transferred from the Revaluation Reserve to the General Fund, if material.

1.7 Operating Cost Statement

Operating income and costs relate directly to the operating activities of the Assembly Commission. Income includes charges for goods and services provided on a full cost basis to external customers. Income and costs are shown net of Value Added Tax where it is recoverable.

1.8 Capital Charge

A charge, reflecting the cost of capital utilised by the Commission, is included in operating costs. The charge is calculated at the Government standard rate of 3.5% on the average of net relevant assets. Net relevant assets are defined as all assets less liabilities except for donated assets and cash balances with the Office of the Paymaster General. The average is calculated by adding together the balances at this year end and the previous year end, and dividing by two.

1.9 Stocks

Stocks, including goods held for resale, are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

1.10 Foreign Exchange

Transactions which are denominated in a foreign currency are translated into sterling at the exchange rate ruling on the date of each transaction. Foreign currency imprests are translated into sterling at the exchange rate ruling at the time of funding.

1.11 Pensions

The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) - Staff employed directly by the Commission and staff seconded to the Commission are eligible for membership of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). It is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme and the Commission is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities. A full actuarial valuation was carried out as at 31 March 2007. Details can be found in the resource accounts of the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation (www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk) which comply with FRS 17.

The Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme (AMPS) - A pension scheme for the Members of the Assembly was originally established under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and continues in force under the Government of Wales Act 2006. The scheme is a defined benefit scheme, and applies to the salary of members and to any office holder salary. The cost of pension cover provided for the Assembly Members is by payment of charges calculated on an accruing basis, with liability for payment of future benefits charged to the accounts of the AMPS. Any liabilities of the fund arising from a deficit on assets will be met through increased funding by the Commission. In reporting on the assets and liabilities of the Scheme, the Commission has followed the advice of the Accounting Standards Board and disclosed early adoption of the Amended Financial Reporting Standard 17. The AMPS prepares its own Annual Accounts, separate to the Commission’s Accounts, and these are available on the Assembly website www.assemblywales.org.

1.12 Operating Lease Charge

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the operating cost statement in the period to which they relate.

1.13 Value Added Tax

The Commission is treated as a Crown Body for the purposes of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 and accordingly for the purposes of Section 41 of that Act (application to the Crown) it is treated as a government department, and is exempt for VAT on the provision of Assembly goods and services. The Commission is standard rated for VAT on its trading activities, such as the Assembly shop.

2. Analysis of net resource outturn 2007-08

	Outturn £000	Breakdown of Approved Budget £000	Outturn compared with Budget £000
Revenue expenditure
Members' salaries, allowances and related costs	12,015	12,722	707
Staff salaries and related costs	10,512	10,570	58
Rceruitment/other HR costs	172	175	3
Training and development costs	217	238	21
Staff travel and subsistence costs	140	141	1
ICT costs	3,568	3,362	(206)
Accommodation and facilities costs	7,721	6,741	(980)
Marketing and publicity costs	447	521	74
Other administrative costs	2,464	1,567	(897)
Depreciation and notional interest charges	3,836	4,775	939
Gross Revenue Expenditure	41,092	40,812	(280)
Revenue Income
Sales - the Assembly Shop	(36)	(30)	6
Accommodation rental income	(114)	(107)	7
Miscellaneous income	(1)	(14)	(13)
Gross Revenue Income Applied	(151)	(151)	-
Net Revenue Expenditure	40,941	40,661	(280)

Capital Expenditure - Craetion of Fixed Assets	156	1,100	944

Net Resource Outturn	41,097	41,761	664

The net resource outturn for 2007-08 was within 1.6% of the approved budget for the year.

Explanations for significant variations from budget are as follows:

a. Members’ salaries, allowances and related costs: the main surplus elements relate to lower than estimated salary increases for Members, and lower than estimated travel, subsistence and Assembly Members’ office costs, all being demand led budgets.

b. Information and communications technology costs: the deficit is due to additional ICT development towards the year-end.

c. Accommodation and facilities costs: the deficit is as a result of a correction to the classification of projects, switching from capital to revenue spend. It is offset by a surplus against the capital expenditure line.

d. Other Administrative costs: the deficit is attributable to a fair-value adjustment for lower-value fixed assets. This is explained further under the notes to the Balance Sheet.

e. Depreciation and notional interest charges: the surplus is attributable to the actual depreciation charge for the year being lower than budgeted, due to reductions in asset values arising from revaluations and the fair-value adjustment referenced above.

f. Capital expenditure: as explained above, the surplus is as a result of a correction to the classification of projects, switching from capital to revenue spend. It is offset by a deficit against accommodation and facilities costs.

3. Reconciliation of resource outturn to net operating cost

	Note	2007-08 £000
Net Resource Outturn	2	41,097
Capital expenditure	8 & 9	(156)
Income payable to the Welsh Consolidated Fund	5	(35)
Direct charges on the Welsh Consolidated Fund		594
Net operating cost		41,500

The direct charges on the Welsh Consolidated Fund (£0.594million) are 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, as a direct charge on the fund, are excluded from the net resource outturn.

4. Reconciliation of net resources to cash requirement

	Note	Estimate £000	Outturn £000	Net total outturn compared with estimate: saving/(excess) £000
Resource Outturn	2	41,761	41,097	664
Accruals adjustments
Non-cash items	See below	(5,339)	(5,424)	85
Changes in working capital other than cash		(5)	(2,171)	2,166
Net cash requirement		36,417	33,502	2,915

*Non-cash items*	Estimate £000	Outturn £000	Outturn compared with estimate £000
Depreciation and amortisation	(2,348)	(1,577)	771
Fair-value adjustment to fixed assets	-	(944)	(944)
Cost of Capital Charges	(2,427)	(2,465)	(38)
FRS17 Pension Finance Cost	(564)	(438)	126
	(5,339)	(5,424)	(85)

5. Analysis of income payable to the Welsh Consolidated Fund

	Forecast 2007-08 £000	Outturn 2007-08 £000

Retainable operating income	151	153
Non-Retainable operating income (bank interest)	-	33
	151	186
Amount authorised to be retained	(151)	(151)
Amount payable to the Welsh Consolidated Fund	-	35

6a. Members and staff numbers and related costs

				2007-08 £000
		Staff	Members & Office Holders	Total
Salaries
	Permanent staff, Members and Office Holders	8,257	4,279	12,536
	Seconded staff	132	-	132
Social security costs
	Permanent staff, Members and Office Holders	616	400	1,016
Other pension costs
	Permanent staff, Members and Office Holders	1,507	1,330	2,837
Total Members, Office holders and staff salary costs		10,512	6,009	16,521

The Commission pays the salary and related costs of Welsh Ministers, as set out in the Remuneration Report within these accounts. Amounts paid to the Welsh Ministers are disclosed within the Welsh Assembly Government’s Consolidated resource accounts.

The average number of whole-time equivalent persons employed by the Commission across the year (including senior management) was as follows:

Permanent Staff	272.9
Seconded Staff	6.3
Temporary/Casual Staff	13.7
Fixed Term Appointments	1.2
Total	294.1

There are 60 Assembly Members. At the year-end there were 10 Office Holders (other than Ministers), 1 First Minister, 9 Welsh Ministers, 3 Deputy Ministers and 1 Counsel General.

The Commission consists of the Presiding Officer and four elected Members (see Management Commentary for detail). The role of a Commissioner was non-remunerable during 2007-08. All senior managers and staff are employees of the Commission.

Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme

The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme but the Assembly Commission is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities. A full actuarial valuation is carried out every four years, with the latest as at 31 March 2007. Details can be found in the resource accounts of the Cabinet Office: Civil Superannuation (www.civilservice-pensions.gov.uk).

For 2007-08, employers’ contributions of £1.540m were payable to the PCSPS at one of four rates in the range 17.1% to 25.5% of pensionable pay, based on salary bands (unchanged from the rates in 2006-07). The scheme’s Actuary reviews employer contributions every four years following a full scheme valuation. The salary bands and contribution rates were revised for 2005-06 and will remain unchanged until 2008-09. The contribution rates reflect benefits as they are accrued, not when the costs are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme.

Employees can opt to open a partnership pension account, a stakeholder pension with an employer contribution. Employers’ contributions of £19,000 were paid to appointed stakeholder pension providers. Employer contributions are age-related and range from 7% to 15% per cent of pensionable pay. Employers also match employee contributions up to 3% of pensionable pay. In addition, employer contributions of £1,000 (0.8%) of pensionable pay, were payable to the PCSPS to cover the cost of the future provision of lump sum benefits on death in service and ill health retirement of these employees. Contributions due to the partnership pension providers at the balance sheet date were £2,000. There were no contributions prepaid at that date.

There were no early retirements on ill-health grounds during the year, and there were no additional accrued pension liabilities in the year.

Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme

The pension scheme for Assembly Members provides benefits based on final pensionable pay. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Assembly Commission and are managed by an appointed Investment Manager. A full actuarial valuation was carried out at 31 March 2005 and updated to 31 March 2008 by a qualified independent actuary. The scheme is funded.

The amounts recognised in the balance sheet are as follows:

	31 March 2008 £000	31 March 2007 £000

Present value of scheme liabilities	12,661	12,859
Fair value of scheme assets	11,351	10,273
Net liability (surplus)	1,310	2,586

Amount in the balance sheet
Liabilities	1,310	2,586
Assets	-	-
Net liability	1,310	2,586

The amounts recognised in the operating cost are as follows:

	2007-08 £000	2006-07 £000

Current service cost	1,345	1,263
Interest cost	738	622
Expected return on scheme assets	(811)	(571)
Total cost	1,272	1,314

Allocated in the accounts as follows:
Other pension costs (contributions by the Commission)	834	750
Pension finance cost	438	564
Total cost	1,272	1,314

The amounts recognised in the Statement of Recognised Gains and Losses are as follows:

	2007-08 £000	2006-07 £000

Actual less expected return on scheme assets	(840)	(171)
Experience adjustments on scheme liabilities	-	(22)
Changes in assumptions underlying the present value of scheme liabilities	2,554	(1,862)
Total actuarial gain (loss) recognised	1,714	(2,055)

Changes in the present value of scheme liabilities are as follows:

	31 March 2008 £000	31 March 2007 £000

Opening liability	12,859	8,951
Current service cost	1,345	1,263
Interest cost	738	622
Contributions by Assembly Members (incl. transfers-in)	440	327
Actuarial losses (gains)	(2,554)	1,884
Benefits paid and expenses	(167)	(188)
Closing liability	12,661	12,859

Changes in the fair value of scheme assets are as follows:

	31 March 2008 £000	31 March 2007 £000

Opening fair value of scheme assets	10,273	8,984
Expected return on scheme assets	811	571
Actuarial gains and (losses)	(840)	(171)
Contributions by the Assembly Commission	834	750
Contributions by Assembly Members (incl. transfers-in)	440	327
Benefits paid and expenses	(167)	(188)
Closing fair value of scheme assets	11,351	10,273

The Commission expects to contribute £900,000 to the Members’ Pension Scheme in 2008-09.

The major categories of scheme assets as a percentage of total scheme assets are as follows:

	2007-08	2006-07

Equities	72%	89%
Bonds	14%	4%
Cash	14%	7%

The scheme assets do not contain any property directly or indirectly. The scheme assets include, indirectly through investment in unitised funds, gilts issued by the UK government with a fair value of £804,000.

The expected rate of return on equities is 3% a year higher than the yield on gilts at the reporting date. The expected rate of return on bonds is the redemption yield on the bonds held (indirectly) by the scheme at the reporting date. The expected rate of return on cash is the Bank of England base rate at the reporting date.

The actual return on scheme assets in 2007-08 was a loss of £68,000 (2006-07: gain of £400,000).

Principal actuarial assumptions at the balance sheet date:

	31 March 2008	31 March 2007

Discount rate	6.9%	5.4%
Future salary increases	5.2%	5.0%
Future pension increases	3.7%	3.4%
Expected rate of return on equities	7.5%	7.8%
Expected rate of return on bonds	5.5%	4.9%
Expected rate of return on cash	5.3%	5.3%
Expectation of life at age 65 (years)
Men	24.6	23.2
Women	27.6	26.1

Amounts for the current and previous four periods are as follows:

	31 March 2008 £000	31 March 2007 £000	31 March 2006 £000	31 March 2005 £000

Defined benefit obligation	12,661	12,859	8,951	6,537
Scheme assets	11,351	10,273	8,984	5,966
Surplus/(deficit)	(1,310)	(2,586)	33	(571)
Experience adjustments on scheme liabilities	Nil	(22)	Nil	Nil
Experience adjustments on scheme assets	(840)	(171)	1,657	423

Further information on the Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme can be found in the annual report and accounts for the scheme for the year ending 31 March 2008.

6b. Members’ Other Costs

Members’ Other Costs of £6.6million in the operating cost statement consist of:

	2007-08 £000
Office Costs allowances	768
Additional Costs allowances	440
Members’ Staff Costs allowances	5,122
Travel costs	270
Total other members costs	6,600

7. Other Administration Costs

Other administration costs of £18.565million in the operating cost statement consist of:

	2007-08 £000
Accommodation and facilities	5,423
Rentals under operating leases	2,299
Information and communications technology	3,568
Marketing and publicity	447
Training and development	217
Other HR/recruitment costs	172
Staff travel and subsistence	140
Other administrative expenses	1,313

	2007-08 £000
Non-cash items:
Depreciation and amortisation	1,577
Fair-value adjustment to fixed assets	944
Cost of Capital Charges	2,465
Total other administration costs	18,565

The agreed external audit cost for the audit of these statements is £49,250.

8. Tangible fixed assets

					2007-08 £000
	Land & Buildings	Information Technology	Furniture and Fittings*	Vehicles	Total
Cost or valuation
Transferred on 1 April 2007	66,990	7,350	2,033	41	76,414
Fair Value Adjustment	-	-	(1,150)	-	(1,150)
At 1 April 2007 (Restated)	66,990	7,350	883	41	75,264
Additions	-	142	-	-	142
Disposals	-	-	-	-	-
Revaluations	(1,259)	-	-	-	(1,259)
At 31 March 2008	65,731	7,492	883	41	74,147

Depreciation
At 1 April 2007	718	393	391	21	1,523
Fair Value Adjustment	-	-	(206)	-	(206)
At 1 April 2007 (Restated)	718	393	185	21	1,317
Charged in year	667	756	110	10	1,543
Disposals	-	-	-	-	-
Revaluations	1,321	-	-	-	1,321
At 31 March 2008	2,706	1,149	295	31	4,181

Net book value at

31 March 2008

63,025

6,343

588

69,966

Net book value at

1 April 2007

66,272

6,957

1,641

74,891

* Furniture and Fittings Includes ‘donated assets’, consisting of the Mace donated by the Parliament of New South Wales for the opening of the Senedd.

All the tangible fixed assets are owned by the Assembly Commission, none are finance leased. Land and buildings assets consist of the Senedd and Pierhead.

The fair value adjustment reflects a change in accounting policy for furniture and fittings assets brought forward from the previous year, removing the grouping rule where combined assets costing £5,000 or more were capitalised, to a simple £5,000 per asset capital threshold. Furniture and fittings assets not meeting the revised policy have been written out of the accounts via the fair value adjustment.

The revaluation of land and buildings was undertaken by DS Gibbon FRICS of GVA Grimley International Property Advisers, as at 31 March 2008. The Senedd was revalued at depreciated replacement cost and Pierhead was revalued at existing use value.

9. Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets comprise software licences for some of the major systems used by the Commission:

		Total £000
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2007		158
Additions		14
Disposals		-
Revaluation		-
At 31 March 2008		172

Amortisation
At 1 April 2007		-
Charged in year		34
Disposals		-
Revaluation		-
At 31 March 2008		34
Net book value at 31 March 2008		138
Net book value at 1 April 2007		158

10. Stocks

31 March

2008

1 April

2007

£000

Stocks for the Commission’s Shop

11. Debtors

	31 March 2008	1 April 2007
	£000	£000
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors	28	-
Deposits and advances	-	1
Other debtors	4	4
Prepayments and accrued income	563	626
Recoverable VAT	356	-
Amounts due from the Welsh Consolidated Fund in respect of direct charges	5	-
	956	631

There were no debtor amounts falling due after more than one year. Included within trade debtors is £2,000 that will be payable to the Welsh Consolidated Fund on receipt. This relates to surplus income over and above the approved resource budget for the year.

12. Cash at bank and in hand

	2007-08 £000

Balance at 1 April	-
Net change in cash balances	2,915
Balance at 31 March	2,915
The following balances at 31 March were held at:
Office of HM Paymaster General	2,461
Commercial banks and cash in hand	454
Balance at 31 March	2,915

13. Creditors

	31 March 2008	1 April 2007
	£000	£000
Amounts falling due within one year
VAT	2	-
Other taxation and social security	588	-
Trade creditors	1,401	-
Other creditors	-	-
Accruals and deferred income	508	-
Amounts due to the Welsh Consolidated Fund	2,917	-
	5,416	-

There were no creditor amounts falling due after more than one year.

14. Provisions for liabilities and charges

Under Financial Reporting Standard 17, a liability of £1.3million is recognised for the Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme. Further information on this is provided under note 6. No other provisions for liabilities and charges were required during the year.

	AM Pension Scheme £000	2007-08 Total £000
Balance at 1 April	2,586	2,586
Movements in-year	(1,276)	(1,276)
Balance at 31 March	1,310	1,310

15. General Fund

The General Fund represents the total assets less liabilities of the Assembly Commission to the extent that the total is not represented by other reserves and financing items.

	2007-08 £000
Balance at 1 April	69,222
Funding from the Welsh Consolidated Fund	36,417
Direct charges on the Welsh Consolidated Fund	594
Receipts Payable to the Consolidated Fund	(35)
Amounts due to the Welsh Consolidated Fund at year-end - Supply	(2,915)
Net Operating Cost	(41,500)
Cost of capital charge	2,465
Transfer from the Pension Reserve	438
Balance at 31 March	64,686

16. Reserves

(a) Revaluation Reserve

The revaluation reserve reflects the unrealised element of the cumulative balance of indexation and revaluation adjustments (excluding donated assets).

	2007-08 £000
Balance at 1 April	6,476
Arising on revaluation during the year	(2,580)
Balance at 31 March	3,896

(b) Donated Asset Reserve

The donated asset reserve reflects the net book value of assets donated to the Commission.

	2007-08 £000
Balance at 1 April	11
Arising during the year	-
Revaluations	-
Balance at 31 March	11

17. Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

(a) Reconciliation of operating cost to operating cash flows

	2007-08 £000
Net operating cost	(41,500)
Adjustments for non-cash transactions:
(Increase) in stock	(5)
(Increase) in debtors	(325)
less movements in debtors relating to items not passing through the OCS	5
Increase in creditors	5,416
less movements in creditors relating to items not passing through the OCS	(2,917)
Non cash items	5,424
Net cash outflow from operating activities	33,902

(b) Analysis of capital expenditure and financial investment

	Note	2007-08 £000

Tangible fixed asset additions	9	(142)
Intangible fixed asset additions	10	(14)
Net cash outflow from investing activities		(156)

(c) Analysis of financing

	Note	2007-08 £000

From the Welsh Consolidated Fund (Supply)	16	36,417
From the Welsh Consolidated Fund (direct charges)	16	589
Net financing		37,006

(d) Reconciliation of Net Cash Requirement to increase/(decrease) in cash

	Note	2007-08 £000

Net cash requirement	4	(33,502)
From the Welsh Consolidated Fund (Supply)	17c	36,417
Increase in cash		2,915

18. Capital commitments

There are no contracted capital commitments at 31 March 2008.

19. Commitments under leases

(a) Operating leases

Commitments under operating leases to pay rentals during the year following the year of these accounts are given in the table below, analysed according to the period in which the lease expires.

	2007-08 £000
Obligations under operating leases comprise:
Land and buildings:
Expiry within 1 year	-
Expiry after 1 year but not more than 5 years	66
Expiry thereafter	2,086
	2,152

Other – printers and copiers:
Expiry within one year	-
Expiry after 1 year but not more than 5 years	95
Expiry thereafter	-
	95

(b) Finance leases

There are no obligations under finance leases.

20. Other financial commitments

Three of the Commission’s contracts (which are not leases) are deemed non-cancellable, due to the nature of the contractual arrangements. The contracts relate to the provision of ICT support and services to the Assembly, and to managed servers for the HR and Finance systems used by the Commission. The payments to which the Commission is committed at the year-end, analysed by the period during which the commitment expires are as follows.

	2007-08 £000
Obligations under non-cancellable contracts comprise:
Expiry within 1 year	-
Expiry after 1 year but not more than 5 years	79
Expiry thereafter	4,000
	4,079

The Commission’s other contracts make reference to early termination but do not quantify charges for such. Early termination would be a breach of contract and the contractor would be entitled to damages representing the loss of profit on the work which would have been done under the contract if it had run its full course. As this figure is variable for each contract, such contracts have not been included in this note.

21. Financial Instruments

The Commission does not issue or trade in financial instruments such as loans and has no borrowings. It relies primarily on funding from the Welsh Consolidated Fund for its cash requirements, and is therefore not exposed to liquidity risks. It also has no material deposits, and all material assets and liabilities are denominated in sterling, so it is not exposed to interest rate risk or currency risk.

22. Contingent liabilities

Assembly Member Support Staff had contractual rights to have the equivalent of 10% of gross annual salary contributed towards a pension, but not all have exercised this right. Liability continues until six years after cessation of employment, and is estimated as follows:

	Amount outstanding at 31 March 2008 £000	Amount outstanding at 31 March 2007 £000	Amount paid out in 2007-08 £000	Comments
Pension contributions for AM Support Staff who:
Are currently employed under contracts commenced prior to 1 May 2003	29	12	-	Possible
Have left employment without ever joining a pension scheme and where employment commenced after 1 May 2003	43	47	-	Remote

The Assembly Commission has not entered into any quantifiable or unquantifiable contingent liabilities through giving guarantees, indemnities or letters of comfort.

23. Losses and special payments

The number and value of losses and special payments made during 2007-08 are as follows:

(a) Losses Statement

2007-08	*No. of* *cases*	Value £000
Total	7	6

Fruitless payments	4	1
Ex-gratia	1	4
Compensation	2	1
Store losses	41	-

During 2007-08 there were no cash losses, claims abandoned, or administrative write-offs.

(b) Special Payments

No. of

cases

Value

£000

Total

24. Related-party transactions

The Commission has a number of transactions with the Welsh Assembly Government and with other government departments and public bodies, including HM Revenue & Customs. Additionally, regular transactions take place with the Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme, see note 6. Standing Orders of the National Assembly for Wales require the Assembly, on a motion proposed by the Commission, to elect Trustees to the Members’ Pension Scheme.

The Assembly may give special or general directions to the Commission for the purpose of, or in connection with, the exercise of the Assembly Commission’s functions.

No Commissioner, senior manager or other related party has undertaken any material transactions with the Commission during the year. For transparency, the following two minor transactions are reported:

A payment of £260.00 was paid to University of Wales, Bangor, for travel reimbursement. Lord Ellis Thomas AM is president of the University.
A payment of £48.00 was paid to Murchfield Community Association for the hire of a hall. Christopher Franks AM is a member of this Association.

The Commission determines the salaries and allowances of all Assembly Members and office holders, and the salary and conditions policies for Commission staff. The Commissioners, as Assembly Members, may employ family members as their support staff; there are no restrictions in place relating to the employment by the Commission of family members of Commissioners or senior management.

A Register of Financial and Other Interests of Assembly Members is available at www.assemblywales.org and www.cynulliadcymru.org.

Top

Annual Report and Statement of Accounts of the Assembly Commission: 2007-08

Notes to the Resource Accounts

Contents

1. Statement of accounting policies

1.1 Accounting convention

1.2 Tangible Fixed Assets

1.3 Intangible Fixed Assets

1.4 Donated Assets

1.5 Depreciation

1.6 Realised Element of Depreciation from Revaluation Reserve

1.7 Operating Cost Statement

1.8 Capital Charge

1.9 Stocks

1.10 Foreign Exchange

1.11 Pensions

1.12 Operating Lease Charge

1.13 Value Added Tax

2. Analysis of net resource outturn 2007-08

3. Reconciliation of resource outturn to net operating cost

4. Reconciliation of net resources to cash requirement

5. Analysis of income payable to the Welsh Consolidated Fund

6a. Members and staff numbers and related costs

Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme

Assembly Members’ Pension Scheme

6b. Members’ Other Costs

7. Other Administration Costs

8. Tangible fixed assets

9. Intangible fixed assets

10. Stocks

11. Debtors

31 March

2008

1 April

2007

12. Cash at bank and in hand

13. Creditors

14. Provisions for liabilities and charges

15. General Fund

16. Reserves

17. Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

(a) Reconciliation of operating cost to operating cash flows

(b) Analysis of capital expenditure and financial investment

(c) Analysis of financing

(d) Reconciliation of Net Cash Requirement to increase/(decrease) in cash

18. Capital commitments

19. Commitments under leases

(a) Operating leases

(b) Finance leases

20. Other financial commitments

21. Financial Instruments

22. Contingent liabilities

23. Losses and special payments

(a) Losses Statement

(b) Special Payments

24. Related-party transactions