The Senedd Resources Group's role is to help ensure strong governance, support effective stewardship and use of public funds and help maintain the Senedd as an employer of choice where all staff give of their best. The Group consists of six teams: Procurement, Governance & Audit, ICT, Human Resources, Financial Services and Estates and Facilities Management. Below is a description of the areas covered by these service areas which make up the group:
Procurement Service
The purpose of the Procurement Service is to support the business in procuring goods and services that represent value for money. To award and help manage contracts; to effectively manage the Senedd’s commercial risk exposure; to reduce the burden of bureaucracy in the procurement process; and to ensure propriety in our business dealings.
Governance & Audit
The Governance & Audit team ensures we have robust corporate processes in place to help us achieve theSenedd’s strategic goals. It includes expertise in procurement and managing improvement projects, risk analysis and performance reporting, audit and equalities. This team also supports the Senedd Commission Audit Committee, the Senedd’s Commissioner for Standards and administers Freedom of Information Requests.
Financial Services
The Financial Services team sets the standards for financial management, accounting and financial control in the Senedd; processing payments to Members of the Senedd, their support staff, and the Senedd staff; supporting the Commission in demonstrating value for money, stewardship and probity in managing its financial resources; and paying all supplier invoices as quickly as possible to improve the cashflow of businesses in these difficult times.
Estates and Facilities Management
The team is responsible for managing the Senedd Commission’s estate, and managing a range of contracts with external service providers. The team provides a wide range of essential services and facilities for the Senedd, Ty Hywel and the Pierhead Building to enable and assist Members of the Senedd and officials to carry out their duties effectively. These include building management and maintenance, cleaning, catering, accommodation, post room and copy unit, room bookings, porterage and management of emergency procedures. The team is also responsible for the Senedd’s sustainability management and operations.
Human Resources
The HR team's focus is to support managers and staff in making the Senedd a great place to work. To achieve this we work with our internal customers to develop people practices that are best in class – Gold Standard under Investors in People - encompassing recruitment of staff, induction, learning and development, performance management, and health and wellbeing. We also work closely with the Commission & Members’ Support service in providing a suite of HR policies and guidance for Members of the Senedd and their staff.
ICT and Broadcasting Service
Effective and efficient Information and Communications Technology services are essential to the Welsh Parliament. The Commission spends a significant part of its annual budget providing these services and developing its ICT. The Senedd has led the way, both in the UK and internationally in the use of ICT to support parliamentary working and continues to deliver best practice in this area.
A wish to provide excellent ICT services that contribute to outstanding parliamentary support and enhance engagement with the people of Wales are central to the service. The Commission has approved an ICT Strategy which has these objectives at its core.
In addition to helping the Commission to set the strategic direction for ICT, the Service provides the following:
- Development and Management of the ICT and Broadcasting Infrastructure
In addition to supporting the ICT needs of 60 Members of the Senedd, the service is responsible for supporting a further 800+ system users. Approximately half of these are employed by the Commission to support the day to day delivery of parliamentary services. The remainder are the support staff for the Members fo the Senedd working in constituency offices across Wales or within the main offices in Cardiff Bay.
The service delivers a diverse range of applications to support their needs ensuring that these are reliable and offers the flexibility required to accommodate changing needs. - Advice, Support and Development
The Service provides specialist advice and guidance to ICT users, manages all ICT related projects and provides IT development for a range of functions. A dedicated team of Account Managers provide support for Members, in order to ensure that specific needs or issues are identified and addressed. - Senedd
The Service is responsible for the delivery of the ICT, audio and broadcasting services used in the Senedd to support Senedd business. This includes the systems used by Members of the Senedd in the Siambr to manage the agenda, supporting papers and voting as well as allowing Members access to email and research material. The business of Committees is similarly supported. Proceedings in Plenary and Committee Meetings are broadcast live through Senedd TV with the recorded content available as an archive.