Assembly Commission - Role of The Commission

Role of The Commission

The Government of Wales Act 2006 provides the National Assembly for Wales with significant new powers to legislate, and strengthens its scrutiny role. It also creates a legally separate Welsh Government and a Corporate Body, known as the National Assembly for Wales Commission (Assembly Commission) which has responsibility for the provision of property, staff and services to support the Assembly Members. The Commission consists of the Presiding Officer and four other Members nominated by the main political parties. The staff of the Commission are employees of the Commission and are headed by the Chief Executive and Clerk to the Assembly.

The Commission's duty under the Government of Wales Act 2006 is to provide the “property, staff and services required for the Assembly's purposes”. In practice, this means that it is the Commission's responsibility to: - acquire, hold or dispose of any property on behalf of the Assembly; - make arrangements to pay Members and provide their pensions and allowances and to employ Assembly staff; and - act in an appropriate and necessary way to provide the services required for the Assembly to do its work.

Schedule 2 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 allows the Commission to promote public awareness of the current or future electoral system for the Assembly. It also empowers the Commission to promote public awareness of the current or any pending system of devolved government in Wales. The Act allows this to take place via the use of education or information programmes and by making grants available to other bodies or persons to carry out such programmes.

After each financial year, the Assembly Commission must publish an annual report. This report must outline how the Commission has fulfilled its role and exercised its functions during the financial year, and must be laid before the Assembly. The Commission is also required to produce annual accounts for audit by the Auditor General for Wales.