2. What does the Commission do with IT equipment that is no longer fit for purpose? OQ57236

The Commission uses a local business in Barry, which specialises in electrical waste. The data on the equipment is wiped to our required standards before the equipment is sent for re-use or recycling, as appropriate. We are currently in the process of facilitating a mass donation of refreshed Members' IT equipment, and that equipment was refurbished, following the election earlier this year, and this package of equipment will go to worthy causes the length and breadth of Wales.

Well, thank you very much. It's good to know that this redundant equipment from our point of view will indeed be applied to worthy causes across the length and breadth of Wales. Has the Commission considered any of it going to developing countries with which we have a close relationship, through the Wales and Africa programme? Because most of these countries have next to no IT equipment, and in order to engage with the wider world, and certainly to take part in meetings, you do need a laptop to be able to do it effectively.

This may well have been considered in the past; I don't know the exact answer to the question you've made. The policy at the moment, and what we are undertaking at the moment is to look to reuse and recycle the equipment, using a variety of companies in Wales who can put that to appropriate use. Whether any of that then ends up in developing countries, I don't know the answer to that; I'm sure we could do a little bit of searching to find that out. I'll ask the question back to officials as to what activities we've undertaken to see whether there is the ability to look to directly link with charities and other organisations that work in developing countries, in order to see whether there's the potential of reusing our redundant IT kit in a developing country context. So, I'll certainly look into that for you.

Frankly, I'm disappointed at how much ICT equipment, which I think is relatively young, is actually being removed and new equipment is being purchased. It's incredibly expensive continually upgrading and buying. Can I ask that you will review your ICT replacement programme? And can I also ask that you will ask Members if they're happy with the equipment they've got before taking it off them?

Well, I think Members will be aware that, following the election and following the five-year cycle of ICT provision, that IT equipment was refreshed for Members, new equipment has been purchased for Members, and they've been able to select what equipment they want to use. I think the important point to make here is that we need to ensure that our equipment is fit for purpose at all times—fit for purpose in the context of IT now means that we have to be cyber secure, and to be cyber secure, you do need to have the most recent of equipment and more recent of hardware and software. That's the professional advice given to us by ICT experts and cyber experts, and I don't think that we would want to compromise our Senedd ICT security in order to enable one Member, two Members, to keep an old laptop that they may have become emotionally attached to. I think we need to ensure at all times that we are cyber secure. We need to continue our business; that's important for the people of Wales.

Thank you, Llywydd.