By Ruth Mosalski
Copyright walesonline
The cost of running the Senedd is to go up 21% next year, with the Senedd’s budget increasing from £84m this year to £102.6m in the 2026-27 financial year. The increase will fund changes which includes £12.7m for 36 new Senedd members who will be elected to represent Welsh voters in May. The Senedd Commission budget covers the property, staff and services required for the parliament to run. It also covers the costs of salaries and allowances of members and their staff. It comes as it was revealed the cost of making changes to the Senedd chamber have gone up. Huge changes to the building itself, but also the number of politicians, mean the cost of the annual budget is going up considerably. The draft budget spells out that because 2026-27 is an election year, there are extra costs associated with the budget. It will also be the first year there will be 96 elected representatives, and the extra costs will not only fund the members, their salaries and allowances but their staff, as well as associated physical changes to the Senedd building. The document says the cost of the 36 new Senedd members in 2026-27 will be £12.7m. That is made up of: There is an estimate £1.5m of that total £12.7m sum not being spent within the first financial year. The draft budget document says it has been assessed and is “robust” and “reflects value for money”. However it does warn there are a lot of unknowns. “Budgeting for the changes is complex as the support structure required will largely depend on decisions that will be taken in the early part of the seventh Senedd,” the document reads. For example, the number of plenary sessions or committees will not be decided until into the next financial year. A cross-party committee, the business committee, determines this and there is a warning that depending on what they decide could mean the budget has to be “revisited” and “recalculated”. The document says there will be some immediate rises in demand from the first day, such as IT support to new staff. It says IT costs have almost doubled since the last election due to the pandemic and high inflation. The main cost to the Senedd Commission is staff. The 2026-27 budget allows for pay rises of between 3% (directors and chief executive office, Manon Antoniazzi, to 3.75% (Grades TS and SEO). The Senedd estate in Cardiff Bay compromises the main Senedd building and the adjoining Ty Hywel office block. There have been long running questions about whether the Senedd will continue to lease Ty Hywel or consider an alternative site. As a “repairing and insuring” lease the Senedd is responsible for maintaining the building, where there is understood to be a liability for replacing windows at a cost of several million pounds. The Senedd’s current lease on Ty Hywel with its landlord expires in 2032, and plans for a new headquarters have gone out to tender. If the Senedd decides to vacate Ty Hywel, a new building would cost potentially around £60m. No decision has been made about whether to continue the lease or buy a new-build option, which would have to be connected to the main building to allow staff to move freely. This document says that a decision will be made by the end of 2025.
