Deputy Presiding Officer, I do welcome the opportunity to respond to this debate as it does allow me to reiterate the Welsh Government’s position on the issue of lobbying of Ministers. It is a very straightforward position. I’m very glad to make it clear today that Ministers do not meet commercial lobbyists and I’m grateful that you allowed the Chair of the standards committee to update on the committee’s work, with a new Chair in the fifth session, and on the important work that they’re undertaking in this area.

Of course, it has been subject to scrutiny over recent years. But I’m glad that now more work is being undertaken by the committee and that the commissioner will be responding in due course. And, of course, you have drawn attention to previous work. The Members here will be aware that in May 2013 the Assembly’s Standards of Conduct Committee published a report on the Assembly’s arrangements in relation to lobbying and I think it is worth reflecting on that report. It followed an extensive consultation and a review of the arrangements by the National Assembly for Wales Commissioner for Standards undertaken in 2012. He reported

‘that it was the unanimous view of all those consultees who operate in Wales and/or in the National Assembly, that lobbying practices are essentially transparent and adequately policed and regulated’.

But he also said—and this is the independent standards commissioner for Wales—that it was a fact that no complaint against a Member relating to lobbying had been made in recent years or, indeed, as far as the commissioner could ascertain, since the National Assembly was formed. So, it is not surprising, therefore, that the commissioner did conclude firmly, and I quote,

‘that the arrangements currently in place for regulating lobbying, as it relates to Members of the National Assembly, are essentially sufficiently robust and fit for purpose.’

That was a conclusion that was endorsed by the Standards of Conduct Committee at that time. And the committee directly addressed the question of a possible register of lobbyists but concluded that it was neither a reasonable or proportionate response in Wales to the concerns that had been raised at that time about lobbying activity—concerns raised solely at the UK level but not at all in Wales. When the committee published its report, the First Minister considered it carefully in the context of how Welsh Ministers operate and Ministers don’t and didn’t meet commercial lobbyists then, just as they don’t now, as I said in my opening remarks. And since neither the standards commissioner nor the committee had found evidence of a problem, the First Minister concluded that there was no case for action in respect of Welsh Ministers and that continues to be the case today. Nothing that I’ve heard from the Member today causes me to question that decision.

Members will also be aware that public affairs professionals in Wales are committed to operating professionally, responsibly and transparently, and their membership organisation Public Affairs Cymru has demonstrated this by proactively developing and implementing a code of conduct to which all of its members are committed to and must uphold. I welcome this code and the evidence it provides that the public affairs profession in Wales is determined to be, and is seen to be, both professional and ethical.

Of course comparisons will always be made with what happens elsewhere and, yes, the UK Government has established a register of consultant lobbyists. And that’s perhaps not surprising, given that it has always been in Westminster that lobbying controversies have arisen. However, the register only covers consultant lobbying and that means it covers only a small proportion of the UK’s lobbying industry. In fact, it currently has only 114 registered. So, the UK arrangement doesn’t represent a model of comprehensive public access to information about lobbying. I’ve already said that Ministers do not meet commercial lobbyists, but they do, of course, meet many people and organisations and consider a wide range of views as part of the formulation of Government policy, but the ministerial code makes it clear that the basic facts of all such formal meetings between Ministers and outside interest groups should be recorded. All Ministers are required to comply with the ministerial code, and the First Minister is accountable for their conduct. And, as he has made clear on many occasions, the First Minister will not hesitate to act if he has evidence of a breach of the code in any respect. In turn, the First Minister is accountable to this Assembly, and this Chamber would no doubt require him to defend his decisions here on any matter referred to him under the code that had not been addressed satisfactorily.

A further assurance of openness and transparency is the Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, with its remit to examine the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which resources are employed in the discharge of public functions in Wales. It has an important role in holding the Government to account. And I do respect the Member’s right to raise this question as the subject of a short debate, but there isn’t evidence to justify introducing new arrangements in Wales on lobbying. I hope I have reassured the Member that the history of this Assembly and Welsh Government demonstrates a shared commitment to monitor this effectively and appropriately. And the Welsh Government is committed—and I think this is the most important point in response to the Member’s short debate today—the Welsh Government is committed to making transparency and accountability to the public a fundamental principle of how we operate.