Contents
— Overview
— Attending a committee meeting as a witness
Attending a committee meeting as a witness
Senedd committees can meet:
- on site, with all participants in a room together
- in a hybrid meeting, with some participants joining online while others are in a room together
- in an online meeting, with all participants joining the meeting online
The meeting format is decided by each committee. The decision is based on factors such as the preferences of the chair and members, as well as your location, availability and needs as a witness.
If a committee decides to meet in a location not on the Senedd estate, the committee clerking team will tell you.
Contact the committee clerking team if you’d like to discuss your preferences for joining a committee meeting.
Guidance for attending a meeting on site
Guidance for joining a meeting online
Attending a meeting on site
Getting to the Senedd estate
Please arrive 20 - 30 minutes before the start of the meeting.
For directions to the Senedd estate and public transport routes, please see our visiting information.
The committee clerking team will tell you whether to go to the Senedd reception or Tŷ Hywel reception.
Going through security
Bags, coats and other items will need to go through airport style checks, and visitors are checked with metal detectors in the entrance area.
For security reasons, large pieces of luggage may not be taken into the Senedd estate. No storage facilities are available on site.
Once you’re in the building
Please go to the relevant reception area and speak to our visitor services on the front desk. Let them know your name and which committee you’re attending.
You’ll be accompanied to an area where you can wait before going into the committee room. A member of the committee clerking team will meet you there.
If you’re running late
If you’re running late, please contact the committee clerking team who invited you as soon as you can.
If you’re attending a meeting outside normal opening hours
If you’re attending a meeting outside normal opening hours, a member of staff will be waiting to let you in.
At the end of the meeting
Once the chair has indicated that your evidence session has ended, you’ll be escorted from the room by a member of the committee clerking team.
If the meeting is continuing and you would like to watch, let the member of the committee clerking team know and they will try to make arrangements for you to watch from the public gallery or on Senedd.tv.
Attending a meeting online
Online meetings are formal proceedings of the Senedd. It is important that you:
- arrive at the time requested
- are ready to participate as if you are attending in person
- do not share the meeting link or ask anyone else to join the meeting unless you have agreed this with the committee clerking team in advance
Before the meeting
Before the committee meeting:
- you’ll be sent a meeting ID, password, and link for the Zoom app or web client
- you may be asked to attend a test in the days leading up to the meeting, to ensure all equipment is working correctly and meets requirements for broadcasting the committee meeting
If you need help to join a meeting online, please get in touch with the committee clerking team.
If you’re running late
If you’re running late, please contact the committee clerking team who invited you as soon as you can.
Joining the meeting
When joining a committee meeting please:
- join at the requested time
- join the meeting from a quiet location with a plain background on a single device, rather than a video conferencing room
- use a headset, to ensure good sound quality for you and the committee
- do not use virtual backgrounds – if you must use a filter, you are encouraged to blur your background rather than using graphics
- make sure that all notifications on your device are muted to avoid any interruptions during the meeting
- make sure all your other devices are silent (e.g. please silence your mobile phone and, if you’ve been following proceedings on Senedd.TV, please make sure it’s turned off before you enter the meeting)
- make sure that your actual name appears as your Zoom name so that the committee clerking team know who you are before letting you into the meeting
Joining the ‘Waiting Room’
When you connect to the meeting you will be placed in a ‘Waiting Room’ (also called ‘the lobby’). You’ll be admitted into the meeting by the committee clerking team when the committee is ready.
The committee clerking team will keep in touch if they anticipate that you will be waiting for some time to be admitted.
When in the ‘Waiting Room’ you may be asked to confirm your name and organisation. This is to make sure the clerking team only admit those who have been invited to participate in the meeting.
Connecting to the meeting
Once you are admitted into the meeting the clerk or chair will:
- test your microphone
- explain how to access simultaneous translation, if you need it
- explain how the meeting will run and give you a chance to ask any final questions you may have
This will not be broadcast. However, other meeting participants, including committee members, will be able to hear and see you.
You’ll need to select your translation settings every time you re-enter a meeting from the waiting room.
During the meeting
During the meeting please:
- follow any instructions given to you by the chair
- raise a physical hand to catch the chair’s attention if you want to speak
Your microphone will be controlled by the Senedd broadcasting team so you do not need to worry about muting and unmuting yourself.
Please be careful of any controls on your devices which could override these settings locally – any remarks made during proceedings could be overheard by other participants or appear on the broadcast feed.
Technical issues
Should you experience a technical issue during a live session, you’ll be invited into a virtual breakout room by a Senedd engineer.
If your connection fails, please try to re-join the meeting as soon as you’re able.
If you encounter problems rejoining, please email the committee clerking team as soon as you can to help you re-join.
If you encounter problems with the translation feed, please let the chair know as soon as you can and try to reselect your translation settings.
At the end of the meeting
Once the chair has indicated that your evidence session has ended, please select the “leave meeting” button.
The meeting may continue and you can watch it on Senedd.tv.