Senedd requests extra £12m to fund expansion

Emily Price

The Senedd Commission has requested a £12m uplift in its budget next year in order to fund making room for more politicians.

Controversial plans agreed by the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru to increase the number of MSs from 60 to 96 and change how they are elected got final approval earlier this year.

A draft budget laid before the Senedd today (September 27) by the corporate body for the Welsh Parliament revealed a request for a 16% increase in cash in order to fund the infrastructure changes needed to expand the Senedd by more than a third.

The vast majority of the Senedd Commission's funding comes from the Welsh Consolidated Fund  - public money allocated to Wales by the UK Government.

The Commission doesn't hold reserves and has a limited income from its shop and from renting out office space to media organisations.

For 2025 - 2026, the body running the Senedd has requested £84.3m - up from £72.1m the year before.

The extra cash will be used to pay for more office space and more seats in the Chamber as well as for things like security, lighting, heating and ICT infrastructure.

The original estimate of how much it would cost to renovate the Senedd's Chamber has increased by around £1m.

This is because the original estimate was based on room for 80 members and not 96.

The extra money will also go towards a staff pay award of 5%, in line with the wider public sector.

The funding request also takes into account that 2026 will be an election year meaning more money is needed to pay for new members.

[mid-content-banner]

Options

Decisions on the Senedd's office building, Tŷ Hywel, will also cost the Commission this coming year.

The lease on the Cardiff Bay building which houses MSs and staff will expire in 2032 and the Senedd requires funding to explore other options.

A spokesperson on behalf of the Senedd Commission said: "In the next two years, the Senedd will undergo the biggest change since it was established in 1999 – becoming a parliament of 96 MSs, with greater power to hold Welsh Government to account, develop new laws and better represent the people of Wales.

"This budget proposes a 16% increase in spending to support a 60% increase in members. It will also ensure that Senedd staff pay is in line with the wider public sector in Wales. Every effort has been made to ensure tax-payer value for money."

The Welsh Government says the Senedd has long been under resourced.

With all the cabinet and official appointments, it currently only has around 42 backbenchers available to both scrutinise the government and legislate.

It's argued that this number of MSs cannot fill all the committee seats to deliver a properly functioning parliament in Wales.

A good example of this is the 20mph default speed limit which never went to a committee because there wasn’t sufficient space and time for it to be properly scrutinised.

The Welsh Conservative Senedd group are heavily opposed to plans for 36 more politicians in Cardiff Bay because of the cost.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for the Constitution, Darren Millar MS said: "The cost to taxpayers of Senedd reform is ballooning even before the full extent of Labour and Plaid’s plans for more politicians are implemented. "Spending millions on preparing for more politicians at a time like this, is a real kick in the teeth for Welsh pensioners losing their winter payments and those across the country who have been left languishing for years on record-breaking NHS waiting lists."