Former Senedd members paid £632,000 for 'resettlement'

A third of the previous Senedd's members left the institution this year

Twenty Senedd members who departed at May's election have shared £632,000 from a "resettlement" scheme.

The largest individual sum was £50,963, paid to ex-first minister Carwyn Jones, an assembly/Senedd member since 1999.

Another member since 1999, Tory David Melding, had £40,420 while ex-Plaid Cymru MS Leanne Wood received £40,074.

The two Abolish the Welsh Assembly members last term, Mark Reckless and Gareth Bennett, were paid £32,679 and £32,742 respectively.

BBC Wales obtained the figures using the Freedom of Information Act.

How does the scheme work?

An Independent Remuneration Board sets out the process by which the resettlement grant is calculated.

The resettlement grant paid to members who were not candidates at the May election was 50 per cent less than for candidates who failed to be re-elected.

Kirsty Williams had been education minister since 2016

As a result, for example, Kirsty Williams, a member since 1999 but who did not seek re-election, received less than one-term members such as Mark Reckless and Caroline Jones.

Departing members receive a Base Salary Resettlement Grant depending on length of service, and an Office Holder Resettlement Grant if they have additional roles such as first minister, minister, llywydd/presiding officer or deputy presiding officer, counsel general, committee chair or leader of a political group.

Members of the Senedd receive a £67,649 salary, which also increases with the roles listed above.

Kirsty Williams, Welsh government education minister over the previous five year term, did not seek re-election after representing Brecon and Radnorshire since 1999.

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats between 2008 and 2016, and the first female leader of any of the main political parties in Wales, her resettlement grant was £29,807.

Labour

Carwyn Jones is now a law professor at Aberystwyth University

Former deputy presiding officer Ann Jones, a Labour member for the Vale of Clwyd since 1999, did not seek re-election. Her resettlement grant total was £31,255.

Carwyn Jones, who had represented Bridgend since the beginning of devolution in 1999, and been a long-serving minister including nine years as first minister, was paid a grant of £50,963.

Conservatives

Angela Burns, who decided to step down from the Welsh Parliament at the election, was first elected in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire in 2007.

She received a pay-out of £34,319.

Ms Davies stood against Paul Davies for the Tory leadership in Cardiff Bay in 2018

Suzy Davies represented South Wales West since 2011 but was fifth on the Conservative list in the region at the 2021 election and therefore had no hope of winning a seat through that route.

She then withdrew as a candidate for Bridgend. She got a grant of £37,259.

David Melding, who did not seek re-election, represented South Wales Central since the assembly's creation in 1999, and served five years as deputy presiding officer.

He received £40,420.

Plaid Cymru

Helen Mary Jones was a key figure in Plaid Cymru group in the Senedd

Helen Mary Jones failed to win Llanelli at the election, and as she was selected second on the Plaid Cymru list in the Mid and West Wales region did not return to the Senedd.

An assembly member from 1999 to 2011, she returned to Cardiff Bay in 2018 following Simon Thomas' shock resignation.

She got a £14,710 grant.

Dai Lloyd represented South Wales West from 1999 to 2011 before losing his seat, but was re-elected in 2016.

He lost his seat this time after only seeking election in the Swansea West seat, rather than also using the regional list safety net, and got a grant of £31,622.

First elected in 2007, Bethan Sayed did not seek re-election. Her grant was £20,347

Leanne Wood was Plaid Cymru leader for six and a half years

Originally elected in 2003 to represent South Wales Central, Leanne Wood won the Rhondda seat in 2016.

She was Plaid Cymru leader from March 2012 to September 2018. Her resettlement grant total was £40,074.

Other grants

• Independent Caroline Jones (previously UKIP) - £32,786 after losing seat

• Reform Party's Mandy Jones (previously UKIP) - £16,912 after failing to be re-elected

• Reform Party's David Rowlands (ex-UKIP) - £31,622 after losing seat

• Independent Gareth Bennett (former UKIP/Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party) - £32,742

• Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party's Mark Reckess (ex-UKIP) - £32,679 after losing seat

• Independent Michelle Brown (ex-UKIP) - £28,187 after losing seat

• Independent Dafydd Elis-Thomas (ex-Plaid Cymru) - £27,399 after standing down

• Independent Nick Ramsay (ex-Conservative) - £37,259 after losing seat

• Propel's Neil McEvoy (ex-Plaid Cymru) - £28,187 after failing to be re-elected

• UKIP's Neil Hamilton - £33,187 after losing seat