How much funding, including any in-kind support, has the Assembly Commission, including the Remuneration Board and other connected bodies, provided to the Wales Governance Centre since the beginning of the fourth Assembly, providing a breakdown per year and, where possible, per item/transaction?
No grant or other funding has been provided to the Wales Governance Centre by the Assembly Commission or other connected bodies during this period.
The Remuneration Board is independent of the Assembly Commission. Having consulted with the Board, I can confirm that they have not provided any grant or funding either.
Details of ‘in kind’ support provided to the Wales Governance Centre and work commissioned from the Wales Governance Centre during this period are provided below.
Also included for completeness are details of work delivered under contract for the Assembly Commission, which is not considered funding.
Memorandum of Understanding
In 2010, the Assembly Commission and Wales Governance Centre agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The purpose of the MoU is to provide mutual benefits to the Wales Governance Centre and the Assembly Commission, while respecting its academic independence, which:
- Contribute to the fulfilment of the Commission’s functions i.e. the provision to the Assembly of property, staff and services and the promotion of public awareness of devolved government in Wales.
- Contribute to the work of the Wales Governance Centre as a centre of academic and research excellence.
In accordance with the MoU, the Wales Governance Centre provides:
A regular series of events, using academic experts to highlight the various dimensions of contemporary policy debates. This has included, for example:
- A public lecture by Sir Julian King, European Commissioner for the Security Union on the European Union’s agenda on security.
- EU Referendum: One Year On. A public event that explored some of the legal, political and financial issues attached to Brexit.
- A public lecture delivered by Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, on the Past and the Future of Law in Wales.
A programme of around six 1 hour sessions for Assembly Commission staff per year. Additional sessions aimed at Assembly Members’ support staff are being piloted. The sessions form part of the learning and development opportunities available to staff to help increase understanding of key topics which they need as part of their roles, particularly in relation to constitutional change, for example, the Assembly’s new tax powers.
In return for the provision of these services, the Wales Governance Centre has use of office accommodation in the Pierhead. From 2010 to autumn 2017 the office accommodation comprised two small offices and a larger communal office and meeting space. In autumn 2017, the Wales Governance Centre vacated the larger space. It continues to occupy the two small offices.
The Assembly Commission has a long lease on the Pierhead, under the terms of which no rent is payable. No charge is made to the Wales Governance Centre for the use of the office space. The office accommodation was not being used for any other purpose at the time the MoU was signed. Due to the limitations in public access and the low quality of the accommodation, the space could not easily be used for another purpose.
The Wales Governance Centre, like other organisations, is able to use the Assembly estate to hold conferences, seminars, lectures and events. All such events must be sponsored by an Assembly Member, and must comply with relevant Assembly Commission policies and procedures.
In line with the vision outlined in the MoU, the WGC has drawn on expertise from other Welsh universities and beyond to deliver the initiative so as to broaden and deepen the policy debate in and around our institutions of devolved government.
Wales Legislation Online
Cardiff University developed the Wales Legislation Online website in 1999 to improve the accessibility to the public of accurate information as to the law in Wales. After the Government of Wales Act 2006 came into force and the Assembly acquired primary legislative powers, the Assembly Commission agreed in 2008 in principle to contribute £50,000 per annum to the Wales Legislation Online website. The contribution was expressly conditional on satisfactory progress being made on a number of aspects, including awareness raising, a bilingual approach and expansion to include Assembly Measures.
In February 2012, the Commission agreed to discontinue its financial support for Wales Legislation Online.
Contributions to Wales Legislation Online since the beginning of the Fourth Assembly on 6 May 2011 amount to £45,833 in 2011-12 and £12,500 in 2012-13. The final payment made covered the period up to 30 June 2012.
Work delivered under contract from the Wales Governance Centre
The following pieces of work were procured in line with the Assembly’s procurement policies and processes.
In 2017-18, the Remuneration Board conducted an open procurement exercise to commission research on the barriers against and incentives for individuals to stand for election to the Assembly. The Wales Governance Centre was successful in bidding for the work. The work has not yet been completed, but the estimated cost is £28,895.50 (plus VAT).
In 2017-18, the Expert Panel for Assembly Electoral Reform commissioned Professor Roger Scully and Jac Larner of the Wales Governance Centre to undertake modelling of the electoral outcomes of potential electoral systems to inform its work. The cost of the work was £5,250.