FDA Wales has submitted evidence to the Senedd’s Standards of Conduct Committee’s consultation on Procedures for Dealing with Complaints against Members of the Senedd. 

You can read the FDA’s evidence in English here or in Welsh here.

Under current procedures, final decisions on recommended sanctions against MSs found to have breached Standards of Conduct must be endorsed by the whole Senedd. Those procedures fall far short of the fully independent process for dealing with complaints put in place at Westminster following Dame Laura Cox’s inquiry into bullying and harassment of House of Commons staff.

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace and FDA Wales believes it is vital that the Senedd should have a robust policy to deal with complaints against elected officials that is broadly comparable to an employer’s disciplinary policy. Members of staff and the public should feel confident to raise complaints and know they will be investigated independently and fairly, and a sanction determined free from political interference. 

A recent case involving a complaint made by a civil servant against a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland (MLA) – where a Committee of MLA’s overturned an independent investigation’s findings of “discourteous, disrespectful and aggressive” conduct – demonstrates that it cannot be right for institutions to mark their own homework. 

It is the FDA’s experience, from all corners of the UK, that only an independent process that is completely free from political interference can work. If there is any opportunity for self-regulation, politics will take precedence over fairness and the victims of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment will be failed.

Our campaign calls for the Senedd to implement a fully independent process for dealing with complaints of bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment against MSs – one in which MSs play no part, up to and including decisions on sanctions.

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