Diolch, Llywydd. It is with great pleasure that I ask the Senedd today to adopt the revised code of conduct, laid in the Table Office on 17 March 2021.

The fifth Senedd has seen a significant increase in complaints against Members of the Senedd, and it's against this backdrop that a key part of the Standards of Conduct Committee's work has been the production of a revised code of conduct and accompanying guidance. In redrafting the code, the committee has sought to provide greater clarity on the standards that are expected of Members and to better align the code with the dignity and respect policy that was adopted by the Senedd in May 2018. In order to do this, the committee has considered its experiences and the recommendations of the reports by the standards commissioner, and acting standards commissioner, over the course of this Senedd, spoken with a number of stakeholders, including former standards commissioners, consulted with the public, as well as all Senedd Members, and conducted research into the use of codes of conduct in both local and national Governments within the UK and internationally. The redrafted code has two main elements: first, a number of overarching principles of conduct that Members must observe. In addition to the well-established Nolan principles, we have included an additional respect principle, which states:

'Members must not behave in ways that reduce equality of opportunity, must always respect the dignity of other persons and must not engage in discriminatory or unwanted behaviour.'

By including this principle, we want to send a clear message that this is a key tenet of public life applicable to Members of the Senedd and is a starting point to address the very real concerns in relation to dignity and respect that have been raised across society during the course of the Senedd. To accompany the high-level principles, the second element of the code has a series of 24 non-exhaustive rules that will specify, in clear and succinct terms, the conduct that Members must observe. The revised code will come into force at the commencement of the sixth Senedd, and I would like to take this opportunity to remind all those Members standing for re-election that the code applies 24/7, from the point you are elected as a Member of the Senedd.

The committee believes that this revised code now reflects the contemporary standards expected of those in public life. We are recommending, in our legacy report, that the code is reviewed at the mid point of the next Senedd, in light of experience, to ensure it remains relevant to the political constitutional and cultural context in which we, Members of our evolving Senedd, operate.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to put on record my grateful thanks to the committee secretariat who've been excellent, particularly Meriel Singleton who has been outstanding throughout. Furthermore, I'd like to thank all members of the committee who have worked together throughout this and taken on many additional meetings to get things done. Thank you. I ask all Members to agree with the motion as tabled and adopt the new code of conduct.