Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill

A Welsh Government Bill, introduced by Julie James MS, Counsel General and Minister for Delivery. The Business Committee has remitted the Bill to the Member Accountability Bill Committee.

About the Bill

The Bill includes provision for:

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>>>Enhancing the accountability of Members of the Senedd to the electorate, providing a mechanism to recall an elected Member, removing them from office during their term on the basis of the expressed will of voters in the relevant constituency.

>>>Strengthening the Senedd’s standards process as considered by the Standards of Conduct Committee, including:

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***Establishing a mandatory Standards of Conduct Committee;

***Introducing an element of independence and expertise for that committee through the appointment of lay members; and

***Providing more flexibility to the Commissioner for Standards to proactively consider concerns regarding the conduct of Members of the Senedd.

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>>>Placing a duty upon the Welsh Ministers to make provision prohibiting the making or publishing of false statements of fact. This is in response to the recommendations of the Standards of Conduct Committee's report into deliberate deception.

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Further detail about the Bill can be found in its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum.

Senedd Research, Article - New Bill seeks to strengthen accountability of Members and tackle election misinformation.

Current Stage

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The Bill is currently at Stage 2. An explanation of the various stages of Senedd Bills is available in the Guide to the Stages of Public Bills and Acts.

Record of Passage in the Welsh Parliament

The following table sets out the dates for each stage of the Bill’s passage through the Senedd.

¬¬¬Stage 2 (Current)

Stage 2 began on 14 January 2026. Details of tabled amendments will be published here.

Subject to a financial resolution being agreed by 11 February 2026, Stage 2 proceedings will take place in Committee on 12 February 2026 (and 13 February if necessary). The deadline for tabling amendments is five working days before the date of the meeting at which they are due to be considered.

The Member Accountability Bill Committee agreed on 20 January 2026, under Standing Order 26C.27, that the order of consideration for Stage 2 proceedings would be: sections 2 to 21, Schedules 1 and 2, sections 22 to 25, section 1, and the long title.

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¬¬¬Financial Resolution

In accordance with Standing Order 26.68 the Presiding Officer has indicated that a financial resolution is required for the Bill. Further information about financial resolutions is available in section 3 of the Guide to the scrutiny stages for Public Bills.

A debate in Plenary on a motion to approve a financial resolution in respect of the Bill was scheduled to take place on 13 January 2026. The motion was tabled but was not moved by the Counsel General during Plenary proceedings. Amendments may be tabled to the Bill (as of 14 January 2026). However, until a financial resolution is agreed, no proceedings may be taken on the Bill at Stage 2. Further detail will be published once available.

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¬¬¬Stage 1

A debate in Plenary on a motion to approve the general principles of the Bill took place on 13 January 2026. The motion to agree the general principles of the Bill was agreed.

The Member Accountability Bill Committee considered its approach to Stage 1 scrutiny on 21 October 2025.

The Member Accountability Bill Committee considered the Bill on the following dates:

Date and Agenda	Purpose of meeting	Transcript	Senedd.TV
16 December 2025	Consideration of draft report (Private)	Private	Private
9 December 2025	Consideration of draft report (Private)	Private	Private
3 December 2025	Consideration of key issues (Private)	Private	Private
2 December 2025	Oral evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery (Public)	Transcript	View meeting
27 November 2025	Oral evidence session: Alberto Costa, Chair of the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Dr David Stirling, House of Commons Committee on Standards, Lay Member (Public) Oral evidence session: Alexander Greenwood, Criminal Bar Association and Jonathan Elystan Rees KC, Criminal Bar Association (Public)	Transcript	View meeting
25 November 2025	Evidence session with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, House of Commons and the Pan-Island Commissioner for Standards (Public)	Transcript	View meeting
18 November 2025	Evidence session with the Electoral Commission, Electoral Management Board, and Association of Electoral Administrators (Public)	Transcript	View meeting
11 November 2025	Evidence session with the Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee (Public) Evidence session with the Commissioner for Standards (Public)	Transcript	View meeting
4 November 2025	Confirmation of Approach to Stage 1 Scrutiny (Public) Forward work planning (Private)	Transcript	View meeting
21 October 2025	Committee remit (public) Consideration of Approach to Stage 1 Scrutiny (Private) Technical briefing (Private)	Transcript	View meeting

The Member Accountability Bill Committee laid its report on 23 December 2025 (PDF 2.6MB). The Welsh Government responded on 9 January 2026 (PDF 258KB).

The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee considered the Bill on the following dates:

Date and Agenda	Purpose of meeting	Transcript	Senedd.TV
17 November 2025	Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery	Transcript	View meeting

The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee laid its report on 23 December 2025 (PDF 2.4MB). The Welsh Government responded (PDF 239KB) to the report on 9 January 2026.

The Finance Committee considered the Bill on the following dates:

Date and Agenda	Purpose of meeting	Transcript	Senedd.TV
20 November 2025	Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for Delivery	Transcript	View meeting

The Finance Committee laid its report on 19 December 2025 (PDF 357KB). The Welsh Government responded to the report on 9 January 2026 (PDF 227KB). The Senedd Commission responded to the report on 13 January 2026 (PDF 157KB).

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¬¬¬Bill introduced (3 November 2025)

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>>>Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill, as introduced (PDF 1.3MB)

>>>Explanatory Memorandum (PDF 1.3MB)

>>>Presiding Officer’s Statement - 3 November 2025 (PDF 177KB)

>>>Business Committee’s Report on the timetable for consideration of the Bill – 4 November 2025 (PDF 75KB).

>>>Statement of Policy Intent – 3 November 2025 (PDF 418KB)

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Contact information:

Clerk: Sarah Sargent