Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament
Pwyllgor y Bil Atebolrwydd Aelodau | Member Accountability Bill Committee
Bil Senedd Cymru (Atebolrwydd Aelodau ac Etholiadau) | Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill
Ymateb gan Crynwyr Cymru | Evidence from Quakers in Wales
“We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, nor are we for this party nor against the other … but we are for justice and mercy and truth and peace and true freedom, that these may be exalted in our nation, and that goodness, righteousness, meekness, temperance, peace and unity with God, and with one another, that these things may abound.”
- Edward Burrough, 1659, as printed in Quaker Faith and Practice, 5th Edition
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is founded on the testimony of truth and integrity. It is one of our core, guiding concerns.
Good governance and accountable representation are vital for vibrant democracy. The Bill under consideration provides an opportunity to embed improved standards of accountability and election integrity for the Senedd Cymru, which aligns with our values. Because the Bill addresses recall, misconduct, false statements in elections, and the inclusion of lay members in governance of standards, it intersects directly with questions of democratic legitimacy, institutional trust and public engagement - all of which matter deeply to Quaker concern for the common good and for inclusive, participative democracy.
Accordingly, Quakers in Wales welcome the Bill’s ambition and we offer our comments in the spirit of constructive engagement.
We are broadly very supportive of the draft Bill. We welcome the steps it takes to enhance accountability of Members of the Senedd, to enable recall in appropriate circumstances, to strengthen the standards framework, and to address election conduct.
At the same time, we believe the Bill would benefit from some clarifications and enhancements, especially in relation to the role and status of lay members, term-limits, political neutrality, and consistency of standards applied to all participants in the standards regime.
We strongly support the inclusion of lay members on the Standards of Conduct Committee, which brings external, independent expertise and improves public confidence in oversight.
The text of the Bill in Part 2, section 30A(3) states that the Committee may include lay members. We believe that this should be updated to must include lay members.
We would also welcome a target number or range of numbers e.g. 4 of 9 members must be lay members. For example, Standing Order 149 of the House of Commons makes explicit provision for the Standards Committee to include 7 MPs and 7 lay members.
We favour shorter total term limits for members of the Committee in the interests of clarity, transparency and fairness – i.e. instead of appointed for a term of up to 6 years renewable, state for a term of 3 years renewable (in line with the House of Lords arrangements) or 6 years non-renewable (in line with the House of Commons arrangements).
If lay members are eligible for reappointment, the Bill (or accompanying regulations) should clearly set out the process for reappointment, and whether open competition will apply (i.e., whether the reappointment is automatic or subject to advertisement and selection).
We consider that this would help protect the credibility of the lay appointment process and avoid perceptions of cronyism, entrenchment or dependency on political actors.
We suggest the Bill include a principle (or statutory provision) that lay members must be, and be seen to be, politically neutral and independent. Their appointment and conduct should be clearly insulated from party politics to preserve their independence and credibility.
We consider therefore that the same criteria which make a person ineligible for the role of Senedd Commissioner for Standards in Part 3, section 20 of the draft Bill, should apply to lay members of the Standards Committee.
We note that members of the Standards Committee themselves wield significant influence over conduct oversight. It is therefore appropriate that the same standards of conduct, integrity and accountability should apply to lay members as apply to the public office-holders they oversee (or at least a clear adapted version).
The Bill (or accompanying regulations) should make explicit that lay members are bound by the Seven Principles of Public Life - selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership (the “Nolan Principles”) - which Quakers endorse.
We hope that this would help maintain public trust that the oversight process is morally and ethically robust.
We welcome the inclusion in the Bill of a standard for election-related misconduct that covers false or misleading statements made “knowingly or recklessly”. This is important because both intentional and reckless behaviours undermine trust in democracy and the threshold of intention may often be difficult to meet.
We urge that the threshold of recklessness be clearly defined, with guidance to returning officers and candidates, so there is clarity about what constitutes “reckless” mis- or disinformation.
We also welcome the duty on Welsh Ministers to prohibit false statements in future Conduct Orders governing Senedd elections.
We strongly support the addition of this provision as a significant and welcome development in strengthening the role of the Commissioner. Giving the Commissioner the power to initiate investigations of their own initiative reinforces the independence of the office‐holder and reduces reliance on party‐political actors or the lodging of complaints.
We also welcome the measures to safeguard the political independence of the role‐holder.
We believe this development should be underpinned by measures that ensure that the Commissioner has access to adequate resources, investigatory tools, staff and support, to enable meaningful own‐initiative investigations.
Given our concern for participative democracy and the public’s trust in institutions, we recommend that a prominent requirement be placed on the Senedd and Welsh Government to publish accessible guidance for voters about the recall process, standards regime, how lay members are appointed, and candidates’ obligations around false statements.
In addition, public awareness campaigns could help make the new arrangements meaningful for voters and not merely technical changes.
Quakers in Wales welcome the draft Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill as a significant step toward strengthening the foundations of democratic accountability, public trust and integrity in Welsh political life.
The Bill aligns with our values of truth, integrity, equality and inclusive democracy but could be strengthened in a few key ways which we have outlined above.
We offer the suggestions above in the spirit of constructive improvement and we would be glad to provide further evidence or clarification to the Committee, if that would be helpful.