The National Assembly for Wales’s Independent Remuneration Board has identified increased policy development and scrutiny capacity as a top priority in its annual report published this week.
The Board chair Sir George Reid said “This is not easy at a time of financial constraint and in a legislature of only 60 Members.
“In this report, we outline measures to enhance capacity in the policy area. We would have liked to have gone further, but recognise that some issues require further consultation before decision in 2014.”
“The Board feels that increasing policy and scrutiny capacity is fundamental to the development of the National Assembly for Wales,” Sir George Reid added.
“The Assembly has enhanced powers and we believe the package we have come up with, given the current constraints on the public purse, offers value for money at the same time as ensuring the institution is fit for purpose.”
As a result the Board has introduced the following initiatives to address increased policy capacity within the Assembly:
- Establishing a Policy Research Fund which provides each of the Assembly’s 60 Members with £2,000 to commission external research;
- Enhancing the support to party groups to equip them deal with the complex work of the Assembly as a legislature.
They went on to say 'The Board has also increased the pay of Assembly Member Support Staff by one per cent for the 2013-14 financial year.
The total cost of these initiatives is £261,741 but the Board believes that this is more than off-set by the estimated £2million saving that will be made during the course of the Fourth Assembly due to other decisions it has made on Members’ pay and expenses.'
It’s only taken the folks in Cardiff Bay 14 years to reach this conclusion, but it's a welcome if belated step in holding those who make decision in Wales to account.
The full report is HERE
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