Written question WQ99401

The Y Farchnad brochure was produced and distributed using existing in-house design, staffing and printing resources. No separate budget was established for its production, and the costs cannot therefore be separately identified.

No additional budget has been established for producing further printed copies as the Commission does not intend to use printed copies as the routine method of communicating future Y Farchnad opportunities.

The decision to provide Members with a printed copy during the first term of the Seventh Senedd reflected the particular circumstances following the election. A significant number of Members were newly elected and had not yet recruited office staff to help manage correspondence or identify engagement opportunities. The brochure was therefore placed in Members’ pigeonholes to ensure that Members were aware of opportunities to engage with the 88 organisations participating in the first-term programme, and were not disadvantaged by the absence of established office support arrangements.

As the programme has developed, demand from organisations wishing to participate has grown so from January 2027 Y Farchnad will be held twice a month. The Commission has therefore been developing more sustainable and cost-effective approaches to promoting an expanding programme of engagement opportunities.

From the second term onwards, communications relating to Y Farchnad will increasingly be delivered through digital channels, supported by enhanced notice boards on Floors 2 and 3, electronic copies on Hwb pages, and dedicated webpages setting out details of forthcoming events and participating organisations. A limited number of printed copies may be retained for reference purposes.