Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I move the Commission's budget motion for 2019-20 and ask that it be incorporated into the annual budget motion.

As you'll have seen from the draft budget, the Commission is seeking a total budget of £57.023 million, comprising £37.076 million for Commission services, £16.197 million for the remuneration board's determination and £3.75 million for non-cash items broadly over which we have no control.

The increase requested in the budget is within the amount recommended by Finance Committee last year and in line with the increase to the Welsh block. In the context of ongoing work around Brexit and Assembly reform, this has meant strict and better evidenced prioritisation of projects. Some prospective activity could take us into new territory, of course, and in the event of a second phase of Assembly reform involving an increase in the size of the Assembly, we were grateful to the Finance Committee for at least leaving the door open to a supplementary budget, should we not be able to meet the demands within the current budget.

The Commission exists to support the Assembly and, of course, its Members, and the pressure on Members remains significant. Given our relatively small number and complex issues, which we are addressing now, notably Assembly reform, the impact of the UK leaving the European Union, we need a budget that provides the right level of resource to support Members through this period.

Our strategy outlines the budget for the remainder of this the fifth Assembly and the first year of the next Assembly. One of the strategic aims is to engage with the people of Wales and champion this place, helping our constituents understand what we do and why it's important that they understand what we do and to have them participate in our democracy. And we are about to have our first election to the Youth Parliament. Voting is open, and the results will be known in December for this new and exciting chapter in our history. And it flies, I think, in the face of the perception that young people aren't interested in politics when you hear that 450 candidates across Wales are standing for election and 23,000 young people have registered to vote against our target of 10,000, and that's more than some constituency Assembly Members get. [Laughter.] It really is a momentous step in democracy in Wales.

The Assembly also has new legislative powers, which it must use to best effect in delivering a strong, sustainable democracy for the benefit of the people of Wales. So, we think this is a fair budget that challenges the Commission to use resources wisely—that's another strategic goal—to an even more acute degree. So, I would like to thank the Finance Committee for its scrutiny of this budget and its continued commitment to improve the transparency of Commission funding, whilst pushing us to become more efficient and effective in the work that we do.

We note that the committee is content with the draft budget proposals as they are and welcome comments that changes introduced in the 2019-20 budget document contribute to transparency in our budgeting process. We aim to continue demonstrating the openness that we have shown to date and we are committed also to continuing to work with the committee to ensure that budget submissions year on year provide information that the committee, on behalf of the whole Assembly, would like to see.

The committee made eight recommendations, all of which we have addressed in our response. Three of the recommendations requested further information and clarity on particular areas of the budget, including the cost of the Youth Parliament, and, certainly, in due course, we will have a much clearer picture of exactly how the recurring costs will look, and those will be absorbed into future service plans rather than standing alone in the budget as they do at the moment.

Two recommendations concerned staffing: one touched on the findings of the capacity review and whether a voluntary exit scheme for Commission staff would achieve an effective reconfiguration of our staff resources within the cap on headcount for the future; and the other looked at continuing work being done around sickness management and managing staff churn. This work is ongoing and, as ever, the Commission needs to ensure it has the right skills in place to continue delivering all of our priorities and support services.

Another recommendation encouraged the Commission to determine a consistent way of presenting the numbers and the increase in the budget for future years, and this is a principle that we actually share as a Commission. The budget is presented differently this year, reflecting requests made of us by Finance Committee in the past. So, we don't want an ever-changing presentation either, because it makes year-on-year comparisons difficult, not just to make, but to explain as well.

The final two recommendations were concerned with Assembly reform, specifically the financial impact of proposed legislation—our legislation—and an associated financial impact assessment of progressing this work. The Finance Committee requested sight of our outturn figures on this work, and how it might differ from the actual budget provision, and of course we'll be happy to provide that information when it's available. As an AM myself, I certainly welcome detailed and well-evidenced and well-explained financial impact assessments.

The major change in the presentation of course has been—well, not just the presentation—the use of the remuneration board's determination figures. And where the full amount of the determination is not spent, then it will not be drawn down on other Assembly priorities; it will remain in the block grant. The flip side of that, which actually was something that the Finance Committee concluded itself, is that if there are any unexpected determination costs, they should not be met from the Commission's operational budget. So, if unexpected costs do arise, and the determination spend exceeds its allocated budget, if we cannot manage that within an operational budget—if it's a very small amount—we will seek a supplementary budget.

We are, as ever, open to suggestions on how to improve our budgeting process, and willing to answer any questions that Members may have. In the meantime, I am happy to put this budget forward on behalf of the Commission, and reiterate our commitment to working in a way that is open and transparent, delivering the best possible value for money for the people of Wales.