8. Statement by the Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee: The procedure for dealing with complaints against Members of the Senedd

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:54 pm on 6 July 2022.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 4:54, 6 July 2022

Thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd. And thank you, Chair, for taking on what is an extremely complex and difficult thing to do.

But I do have one question and it's about the removal of the appeals provision by majority decision. I had, as you well know, extreme difficulty in appealing a decision that went in favour of Gareth Bennett in the last Senedd and against me. It resulted in having to bring in somebody else from outside to overturn that decision, because I was in a position where I was told I couldn't appeal and that other people would have to speak on my behalf, which was completely unsatisfactory, as was the result from the previous standards commissioner, who agreed that misogyny, sexism and all those things were acceptable. I know now that that has been put to bed, but if individuals don't have the right of appeal, and if, as was the case in my situation, the first I knew of that decision was when that final report was made—. I didn't have an opportunity between putting forward a complaint and finding out what the resolution was to know exactly what was happening. So, I do note that that point has been raised in what you're doing. But I wouldn't like to see such a situation and I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I had to go through again, and that is taking on a commissioner for standards, when it's that person who you're relying on to actually uphold the standards that we rightly should be working under.