Part of 3. Questions to the Assembly Commission – in the Senedd at 3:21 pm on 20 June 2018.
Well, operating policies and guidance that have been approved by the Commissioners is what our staff do. They don't make decisions as to whether an event is appropriate or not; they simply operate according to the policy. If you have any examples where you think any decision by any member of staff has been unfavourable to you as a Member, then please do write to me. Note publicly, here, if you so choose, what that was, but do raise that issue with me, and I'm happy to look into that.
In setting a maximum of 10 events for Assembly Members to book on the Assembly estate the intention wasn't to discriminate against Members. Indeed, it was quite the contrary—namely, to ensure that all Members in this place have the same opportunity to book space, because the evidence that we received from Members did demonstrate that some Members would book a huge number of events and would do so regularly, and, mainly, those were Members representing this particular area and representing constituencies around Cardiff. So, we wanted to ensure that there was a level playing field for Members across Wales.
Now, this question was raised in Commission questions the last time we had these questions, and Jenny Rathbone raised the same point. I made a commitment at that point to review this new guidance and to see whether it has a negative impact on the democratic activities of Members in this place. So, I would welcome any correspondence from you, Bethan, with any examples you may have. I would welcome such correspondence from any Members surrounding me with any examples of how these new guidelines have negatively impacted the democratic work that you do, because I can assure you that that was not the intention, and, if it has had that impact, then certainly we will need to review it.