Acting Standards Commissioner appointed

Published 13/11/2019   |   Last Updated 13/11/2019

Douglas Bain CBE TD has been appointed Acting Standards Commissioner for the National Assembly for Wales. 

Members voted in favour of the motion, tabled by the Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee, during Plenary on Wednesday 13 November. 

The appointment will take immediate effect and the Acting Commissioner will take over the ongoing complaints in relation to the conduct of Assembly Members. 

Douglas Bain was the first, and to date only, Northern Ireland Assembly Commissioner for Standards from 2012 to 2017.  In that role his main function was to investigate complaints that Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) had broken the provisions of the Members Code of Conduct and to report his findings to the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee on Standards and Privileges. During the same period he was the Appointed Person under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. From 2006 to 2010 he was the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland.

In 2018, the National Assembly for Wales appointed Douglas Bain as Acting Commissioner to deal with complaints relating to the conduct of an Assembly Member, as the Commissioner for Standards was unable to act in that case.

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