Assembly Committee seeks public views on Proposed Measure to establish a statutory role of Commissioner for Standards

The National Assembly’s Standards of conduct Committee plans to propose an Assembly Measure to establish the office of a statutory Commissioner for Standards and wants to know the views of the public on the subject.

The National Assembly Commissioner for Standards is an independent person who is appointed by the Assembly to act as as a "watchdog” for the way Assembly Members carry out their duties.

The main duties of the Commissioner are:

• to examine facts about any complaint against an Assembly Member;

• to give advice to the Committee on Standards of Conduct about general issues relating to the standards of conduct of Members, and the records that have to be kept, like Members' Interests and Membership of Societies; and

• to provide help or advice the Assembly decides it needs, on issues relating to the standards of conduct of Assembly Members.

The National Assembly is not currently required by law to have a Commissioner for Standards but the Standards of Conduct Committee would like to propose that a law is passed that says there must be a Commissioner for Standards of Conduct in Wales.

Jeff Cuthbert AM, Chair of Standards Committee said: “The Committee believes that this is an important issue. Making this post a statutory one would ensure that the Commissioner is seen to be totally independent of the Assembly and therefore able to investigate complaints against AMs with complete objectivity. It would also provide the Commissioner with a comprehensive and effective range of powers to enable him or her to investigate complaints rigorously.”

To help the Committee to decide what to include in its proposal for a Measure, the Committee is consulting with people about some of the most important questions about the role and independence of the Commissioner for Standards. The Committee is interested to hear the views of the public on three main questions:

1. Is there a need for an Assembly Measure to establish a statutory role of Commissioner for Standards?

2. What should the role of the Commissioner for Standards be?

3. What fundamental principles should underpin the establishment of the Office?

More detailed evidence is also welcome and a further list of questions can be found at the committee's consultation pages

As part of the activity to seek public views, Chair of Standards Committee, Jeff Cuthbert AM, will be at the Royal Welsh Show on the National Assembly for Wales stand on 23 July between 12 and 1pm.

Interested parties are invited to submit written evidence to Lara Date, Committee Service, The National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA, to arrive no later than Friday 6 September 2008. If possible, please supply an electronic version in MS Word or Rich Text format, either by e mail to standards@wales.gsi.gov.uk. or on a disk. Further guidance on the submission of evidence is attached.

The Committee may call on those who have submitted written evidence to supplement it in oral evidence to the Committee.  Please indicate in your response whether you would be prepared to give evidence in person.

Witnesses should be aware that once written evidence has been submitted to the Committee it is treated as the property of the Committee. It is the Committee’s intention to place written papers on its website, and they may subsequently be printed with the report.