The final part of this mini-series on democracy and independence focuses on raising standards of political conduct and making politics more representative.
The Nolan Principles & Ministerial Code
Also known as the Seven Principles of Public Life, the Nolan Principles (named after the Chair of the Committee that drafted them, Lord Nolan) set the expected standards of behaviour for public officials – elected and unelected. Though this may sit alongside a formal Code of Conduct.
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Whether all of our public officials live up to the above is down to their consciences, but we can all think of occasions where they’ve stretched things to the limit (particularly honesty and accountability).
If a politician is a minister in the Welsh or UK governments, they’re also subject to the Ministerial Code.
The Ministerial Code is more specific than a Code of Conduct and sets out in some detail what ministers can or can’t do, as well as their responsibilities concerning the Civil Service and how to balance their government and constituency roles.
How are naughty politicians dealt with now?
Most countries have a Code of Conduct or some similar ethical code11, though there may be differences in how it’s policed.
At a Welsh level, there are separate codes of conduct for local councillors, Members of the Senedd and MPs.
First thing’s first: elected representatives can’t be “sacked”. Ultimately, in any democracy, it’s for voters to decide whether they want someone to carry on or not.
Who investigates complaints and what the sanctions are depends on the tier of government:
- Local Government (county councils, town & community councils, fire authorities, national parks authorities) – The Public Services Ombudsman receives and investigates complaints about code of conduct breaches by local councillors. The Adjudication Panel for Wales – a dedicated tribunal – receives reports from the Ombudsman on more serious cases and decides what the appropriate sanction is (up to an including disqualification). Some lower level cases may be decided by the Standards Committee of the relevant local authority.
- Senedd Cymru – The Independent Standards Commissioner receives complaints and investigates breaches of the code of conduct breaches by MSs. The Senedd’s Standards Committee – made up of representatives from each party – receives reports and decides what sanction is appropriate. The Senedd as a whole then votes on the sanction.
- UK Parliament – The arrangements are pretty much identical to the Senedd, with a Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and a Committee on Standards.
- Welsh Government & UK Government – Cabinet members are also subject to a Ministerial Code, with the First Minister and UK Prime Minister deciding whether a breach of the code has taken place and what actions to take afterwards.
The ultimate sanction for senior public officials is a no-confidence vote, which is within the remit of the relevant parliament/council.
The first issue is that the current set-up is over-complicated and is screaming out to be streamlined.
Even before recent reports about Labour-leaning bias at the Public Services Ombudsman, it’s unclear why the Ombudsman is responsible for investigating local government code of conduct complaints; it seems out of kilter with their other responsibilities.
The second issue is that Members of the Senedd and government ministers effectively police themselves, while councillors do at least face a tribunal in some cases. There’s nothing wrong with this in principle but – particularly when there are suspected breaches of the Ministerial Code – there’s a risk of a “we investigated ourselves and found we were innocent” outcome.
The process is also open to abuse, with complaints being made for partisan reasons – such as to cause embarrassment or intimidate political opponents – rather than for genuine concerns.
What things should be considered for reforming standards procedures?
- Politicians shouldn’t be allowed to police themselves; complaints should be investigated, reported on and determined independently.
- Special advisors, member support staff, senior officials within political parties and lobbyists/public affairs consultants should be subject to standards in public life provisions. There should be a register of special advisors and lobbyists, with the possibility of being struck off for serious misconduct.
- A single statutory Code of Conduct for all elected representatives, enshrining the Nolan Principles (or a revised/updated version) in law. The Ministerial Code and Civil Service Code can remain separate but there’s a debate to be had over whether they should be statutory/enforced by law.
- A single office of Commissioner for Standards that handles all complaints relating to elected and unelected public officials ahead of a tribunal hearing (where applicable); the Public Services Ombudsman would no longer handle conduct complaints relating to local councillors.
- All admissible standards in public life cases – that fall short of criminal behaviour (i.e. misconduct in public office) – should be heard in public at a tribunal. So the Adjudication Panel for Wales could be a more general Standards in Public Life Tribunal hearing cases relating to Members of the Senedd and other public officials.
- An independent Public Appointments Commission should fill senior vacancies at public bodies (i.e. Public Commissioners, Chief Executives, and Chairs of government-funded agencies).
- The First Minister should retain the sole authority to decide who should be in their Cabinet, but they should no longer decide whether there’s been a breach of the Ministerial Code – that could be the responsibility of the beefed-up Standards Commissioner.
- There’s an argument over whether deliberately misleading/lying statements by politicians should be punished more stringently. Plaid Cymru’s Adam Price has proposed a Member’s Bill about this, but creating a legal definition of “misleading” that is actionable may be difficult (i.e. would political “spin” count as misleading?).
- There should be a recall mechanism for Senedd Members and local councillors.
11. UK Parliament. “Code of Conduct and rules systems in other jurisdictions”. Available at: https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-committees/Standards-Committee/Codes-of-Conduct-and-rules-systems-in-other-jurisdictions.pdf
