(1)The standing orders may provide—
(a)for the appointment of committees of the Assembly, and
(b)for such committees to have power to appoint sub-committees.
(2)The members of a committee of the Assembly, or of a sub-committee of such a committee, may not include anyone who is not an Assembly member.
(3)The standing orders must make provision about the membership, chairing and procedure of committees of the Assembly and sub-committees of such committees.
(4)The standing orders may include provision for excluding from the proceedings of a committee of the Assembly, or a sub-committee of such a committee, an Assembly member who is not a member of the committee or sub-committee.
(5)The validity of any proceedings of a committee of the Assembly, or of a sub-committee of such a committee, is not affected by—
(a)any vacancy in its membership,
(b)any defect in the appointment of its members or of the person who chairs it, or
(c)any failure to comply with provisions of the standing orders relating to procedure.
(1)The provision included in the standing orders in compliance with section 28(3) must meet the requirements of this section.
(2)The provision must secure that the appointments to the places on each committee are (if possible) determined by a resolution of the Assembly—
(a)which secures that its membership reflects (so far as is reasonably practicable) the balance of the political groups to which Assembly members belong, and
(b)which (if the motion for it is passed on a vote) has no effect unless at least two-thirds of the Assembly members voting support it.
(3)The provision must secure that, if the membership of a committee is not so determined—
(a)the person appointed to the first place on the committee is an Assembly member belonging to the largest political group, and
(b)the persons eligible to be appointed to the second and subsequent places on the committee are ascertained in accordance with subsection (5).
(4)“The largest political group” means the political group to which the most Assembly members belong.
(5)An Assembly member is eligible to be appointed to the second or any subsequent place on the committee if—
(a)the number produced by subsection (6) in relation to that place for the political group to which the Assembly member belongs, exceeds
(b)that so produced for each of the other political groups.
(6)The number produced for a political group in relation to the second or any subsequent place on the committee is—
(a)if one or more places are already allocated to the political group, the number of Assembly members belonging to the political group divided by the aggregate of one and the number of places already so allocated, or
(b)otherwise, the number of Assembly members belonging to the political group.
(7)References to a place already allocated to a political group, in relation to the appointment to the second or any subsequent place on the committee, are to a place on the committee to which an Assembly member belonging to the political group is eligible to be appointed—
(a)(in relation to the second place) by virtue of subsection (3)(a), or
(b)(in relation to any subsequent place) by virtue of subsection (3)(a) or the previous application of subsection (5) in relation to a place on the committee.
(8)The provision must modify the operation of the provision made in compliance with subsections (3) to (7) for cases where—
(a)the number of Assembly members belonging to two or more political groups is the same and exceeds the number of Assembly members belonging to any other political group, or
(b)the number produced by subsection (6) in relation to any place on a committee is the same for two or more political groups and is greater than that so produced for any other political group.
(9)The provision must modify the operation of the provision made in compliance with subsections (2) to (8) with a view to securing that (so far as is reasonably practicable having regard to the total number of places on committees)—
(a)every Assembly member who does not belong to a political group is entitled to be a member of at least one committee, and
(b)the total number of places on committees allocated to Assembly members belonging to each political group is at least as great as the number of Assembly members belonging to the political group.
(10)The provision must secure that the Presiding Officer decides questions arising under the provision made in compliance with this section.
(1)The committees of the Assembly must include one to be known as the Audit Committee or Pwyllgor Archwilio or by such other name as the Assembly may determine; and, if the Assembly makes such a determination, references to the committee in—
(a)any enactment (including any enactment comprised in or made under this Act) or prerogative instrument, or
(b)any other instrument or document,
have effect accordingly.
(2)The Audit Committee is to have the number of members specified by the standing orders.
(3)None of the following may be a member of the Audit Committee—
(a)the First Minister or any person designated to exercise the functions of the First Minister,
(b)a Welsh Minister appointed under section 48,
(c)the Counsel General or any person designated to exercise the functions of the Counsel General, or
(d)a Deputy Welsh Minister.
(4)The Audit Committee must not be chaired by an Assembly member who is a member of a political group with an executive role.