Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill: integrated impact assessment

The Senedd Standards of Conduct Committee (‘SoCC’) initiated an inquiry into individual member accountability in 2024. The SoCC published 2 reports with a set of recommendations – split into 2 main themes, recall of Members of the Senedd, in January 2025 and deliberate deception and measures to strengthen the Senedd standards process, in February 2025. The Welsh Government responded to the 2 reports on 10 and 26 March 2025 respectively. The responses said the Welsh Government would bring forward a Member Accountability Bill in the autumn term, to deliver on the Committee’s recommendations. The purpose of the Bill is to enhance the accountability of Members of the Senedd by strengthening the systems that currently exist, that regulate and sanction their behaviour and conduct.

On the theme of recall, the Bill will:

• introduce a system of recall of Members of the Senedd from office during their term. This will include 2 specified trigger events which initiate the recall process and the holding of a vote of electors, in respect of a Member, to confirm if they want to remove or retain them
• enable the SoCC to issue guidance that it will use to inform their consideration of whether to recommend the sanction of recall of a Member (the second of the 2 possible specified trigger events), and
• place a duty on the Courts in England and Wales to notify the Presiding Officer – Senedd Cymru when a Member is convicted and ordered to be imprisoned or detained (including suspended sentences).

On measures to strengthen the Senedd’s standards process, the Bill will:

• allow the Senedd Commissioner for Standards to carry out an investigation into a Member’s conduct of their own initiative
• require the Senedd to establish a  committee to be known as the Standards of Conduct Committee (or another name the Senedd decides)
• allow the Senedd (should it chose to do so) to appoint lay members to sit on the SoCC and to be part of any appeals mechanism that the Senedd establishes, as part of the standards process
• provide legislative provision to allow for the Senedd to establish an appeals mechanism for the Senedd’s standards process
• clarify the Welsh Ministers’ existing powers in the Government of Wales Act 2006 to make provision about the conduct of Senedd elections and introduce a duty upon Welsh Ministers to make provision prohibiting the making or publishing of false statements of fact.

Long term

The Bill will enhance the accountability of Members of the Senedd to the electorate, by establishing a system to recall an elected Member, and remove them from office during their term, on the basis of the expressed will of voters in the relevant constituency.

Prevention

The integrity of the democratic process would be enhanced by giving the electorate the power to choose if they wish to remove or retain their Member of the Senedd if they are convicted and sentenced to a period of imprisonment or, if the SoCC recommends the sanction of recall. The recall system aims to prevent Senedd Cymru being brought into disrepute by providing the electorate with the option to remove a Member from office following serious misconduct, and as a consequence seeks to restore the trust of the public in their elected representatives.

Integration

The system of recall has been developed to compliment and integrate with the electoral arrangements to be introduced for Senedd elections in 2026 and specifically the closed list proportional electoral system.

Collaboration

Engagement with partners and stakeholders has been vital to the development of the legislation, including external delivery partners in the electoral community, the Senedd Commission, the Senedd’s SoCC and the Senedd’s Commissioner for Standards.

Involvement

The genesis of these proposals has come from the Senedd itself, through considerations by the Reform Bill Committee and the SoCC. Whilst this is a Welsh Government Bill, its core purpose is to give legislative effect to recommendations of the SoCC.

The Senedd will have an opportunity to shape the legislation further during the legislative scrutiny process.

The Senedd will also be responsible for implementing certain provisions within the legislation. For example, the Bill provides for the SoCC to produce guidance about the matters to be taken into account by the Committee when considering whether to recommend a Member of the Senedd be subject to the sanction of recall.

Impact

The Bill includes measures designed to strengthen the Senedd’s standards process including a requirement that each Senedd must establish a mandatory Standards of Conduct Committee; that the Senedd, should it choose to, can appoint lay members to sit on the SoCC, providing and an element of independence and expertise to the decision making stage of the process. The Bill also provides more flexibility to the Commissioner for Standards to proactively consider concerns regarding the conduct of Members of the Senedd.

Costs and savings

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been developed to accompany the Bill, including in relation to its cost and saving implications for the Senedd Commission, local authorities, the Electoral Management Board, and the Electoral Commission. Value for money will continue to be given full consideration as the Welsh Government makes progress with delivering the reform including its implementation.

Mechanism

The policy proposal set out above will be delivered via primary legislation and regulations made under that legislation.

2.1 People and communities

Consideration has been given to how, and to what extent, the legislation may affect people and communities. This included impacts on particular individuals, groups of people or communities, people living in, working in, or linked to particular places, consumers of particular products or services, workers, in general and in specific sectors, and the goal of promoting decent and fair work (as per section 4 of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015).

The legislation will establish a system 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.

2.2 Children’s Rights

Ministers are required to have due regard to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child when exercising any of their functions.

It is not considered that the provision in the Bill will have adverse impact on children and children’s rights as prospective Members of Senedd need to be a least 18 before the day on which they are nominated in order to stand for election. Introducing measure to enhance the accountability of Members of the Senedd will potentially improve the Senedd’s ability to consider the views, feelings and wishes of children and young people across Wales, to scrutinise policy and legislation on their behalf of, to represent and serve them.

The Bill provides that persons entitled to vote in a recall poll are those who on the day of the poll would be entitled to vote as the electorate at a Senedd general election. Therefore, the voter franchise for a recall poll will be same as for Senedd general elections. This will include young people aged 16 and 17 years old, who are registered to vote.

No direct impacts on children’s rights have identified as a result of the provision included in the Bill and therefore a full detailed children’s rights impact assessment has not been carried out. However, a full children’s rights impact assessment was completed in relation to the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act which will introduce broader reforms to the Senedd electoral system from 2026.

2.3 Equality

In overarching terms, measures to enhance the accountability of Members of the Senedd will potentially improve the Senedd’s scrutiny function on behalf of the people of Wales. Overall, the measures in the Bill are not considered to have a differential impact on people who share protected characteristics and those from low-income households. A full Equality Impact Assessment has been completed, this includes an assessment of any impacts the Bill has on human rights.

2.4 Rural Proofing

The Bill will not impact positively or negatively on rural individuals and communities and therefore the completion of a full Rural Proofing Impact Assessment has not been identified as a requirement.

The Bill confers a power on Welsh Ministers to make regulations relating to the detail of conducting a recall poll. The policy intention is that the conduct of a Recall Poll will be similar to the delivery of a Senedd general election in a constituency, with similar arrangements for postal voting and the number and locations of polling offices.

The Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act, will bring in a new system for Senedd general elections ahead of the 2026 Senedd election. A summary of the impact of provisions within the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act on rural individuals and communities was provided in the Integrated Impact Assessment.

2.5 Health

The Bill’s provisions are not considered to impact (either beneficially or negatively) on health. Accordingly, the decision has been taken not to conduct a detailed health assessment.

2.6 Privacy

Consideration has been given to the impact of the policy proposals on data protection, including the implications of the collection and processing of data required as a result of the Bill’s provisions. The impacts, the potential risks of the data collection and processing and the mitigations for these are set out in a full Data Protection Impact Assessment.

3.1 Cultural Well-being

The Bill’s provisions are not considered to impact (either beneficially or negatively) on cultural wellbeing.

Welsh Language

A full Welsh Language Impact Assessment has been carried out.

Supporting growth in the Welsh economy, and through this tackling poverty, is at the heart of the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government.

4.1 Business, the general public and individuals

The Bill’s provisions are not considered to impact (either beneficially or negatively) on economic well-being.

4.2 Public Sector including local government and other public bodies

A full impact assessment on the Bill’s impact on the Public Sector has not been conducted. However, the Integrated Impact Assessment has considered in the Bill’s potential implications for Electoral Administrators and the Senedd Commission.

Electoral administrators

The Bill places a general duty on constituency returning officers (CRO) in relation to the conduct of a recall poll in a Senedd constituency in accordance with the Bill and subsequent regulations to be made under it. It is currently envisaged that the CRO’s role for recall polls will be similar to their role in a Senedd general election. The requirements in the Bill for a recall poll to be conducted will have impacts on the role of Electoral Administrators (EAs) in Local Authorities who are responsible for the organisation and running of elections and they support CROs in their role. It is considered that the role of EAs in relation to the organisation and running of a recall poll will be similar to their role in Senedd general elections.

The Electoral Commission

The recall provisions within the Bill will extend the requirements currently placed upon the Electoral Commission to include Senedd recall polls. This includes:

• to report on the administration of any recall poll
• to keep under review and submit reports to the Welsh Ministers on devolved matters
• for representatives of the Commission to be able attend a recall poll
• to prepare a code of practice for the attendance of observers at a recall poll
• to be consulted on any change to electoral law made by regulation (and to consent to the setting of spending limits
• the giving of advice and assistance.

Senedd Commission

The provision in the Bill will impact on the Senedd Commission on the basis that they provide support to the Llywydd as well as the SoCC. The office of the Senedd Commissioner for Standards is also supported by officials employed by the Senedd Commission.

Further details about the impact of the provisions included in the Bill on the public sector can be found in the Regulatory Impact Assessment, which accompanies the legislation.

4.3 Third Sector

The Assessment identified that the legislation could have marginal impacts upon third sector bodies with a particular interest in electoral voting systems and in engaging with Members of the Senedd. These implications are not considered sufficiently significant to necessitate a full assessment on the Bill’s impact on the Third Sector.

4.4 Justice Impact

Consideration has been given to the impact of the policy proposals on justice system. Engagement has taken place with the Ministry of Justice to fully ascertain the potential impacts. These are set out in a Justice System Impact Assessment that has been completed.

5.1 Natural Resources

Having considered the proposals against the priorities of the Natural Resources Policy, no impact is identified and therefore a full impact assessment has not been undertaken.

5.2 Biodiversity

A Biodiversity Impact Assessment was completed in relation to the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act which will introduce broader reforms to the Senedd electoral system from 2026. The provisions included in the Bill will not have a significant impact on Biodiversity.

5.3 Climate Change

The proposals are not considered to impact significantly on level of emissions in Wales.

5.3b Climate resilience

Provision in the Bill will not be affected by any of the risks set out in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment.

5.4 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

The proposals do not impact significantly on these areas and therefore it has been determined that a Strategic Environmental Assessment is not required.

5.5 Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)

The proposals will not impact significantly on the Natural 2000 European protected site network and therefore it has been decided that a Habitats Regulations Assessment is not required.

6.1 The Socio-economic Duty

The Bill’s provisions are not considered to impact (either beneficially or negatively) on economic well-being and therefore a full socio-economic impact Assessment has not been undertaken.

Full impact assessments required:

• Equality
• Data Protection
• Welsh Language
• Regulatory Impact
• Justice.

As the Bill has been developed, engagement has taken place with the external stakeholders noted above, this has helped to inform this impact assessment.

This assessment considers the implications of the legislation in relation to the 5 ways of working set out within the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act. In this context the legislation is considered to have some positive impacts. Introducing a system of recall, that may be applied as a sanction as part of the Senedd’s standards process, will enhance the accountability of Members of the Senedd, specifically because the system will ensure that the electorate has the final say as to whether a Member subject to recall is retained or removed from office. It also seeks to prevent Members from engaging in behaviour that would be considered to be a serious breach of the code of conduct, as the sanction could lead to the Member being removed from office via a recall poll. The recall system has been designed to ensure that it can integrate with the new electoral arrangements for Senedd elections from 2026.

The main effect of the Bill will be the introduction of a system of recall that may be applied as a sanction as part of the Senedd’s standards process. This will have an impact on all Members of the Senedd, but only in the rare circumstances that a Member may be subject to the sanction as a result of one of the two trigger events occurring. It is anticipated that recall will only occur on a small number of occasions, given the circumstances that would lead to the sanction being imposed are based on whether a Member receives a conviction and custodial sentence which is less than automatic disqualification from office, or if the sanction is recommended by the SoCC, and approved by the Senedd, on the grounds that the Member’s conduct is considered a serious breach of the standards expected.

With regards to the other provisions in the Bill, it is difficult to quantify the number of people likely to be affected given it will depend on specific circumstances. For example, it would vary subject to the number of lay members the Senedd chooses to appoint to the SoCC, and the number of investigations the Senedd Commissioner for Standards undertakes of their own initiative.

In developing the legislation, consideration has been given to views expressed in the consultation undertaken by the SoCC during their inquiry into individual member accountability.

Detailed full impact assessments have been prepared where this assessment has identified that the Bill could have specific impacts, or where there is a legislative requirement to do so. Individual impact assessments have been prepared in relation to Equality; Data protection; the Welsh Language and the Justice System.

The main identified impacts of the Bill relate to equality, with regards to a potential reduction of representation within the Senedd, of groups who share protected characteristics, in the event a Member with protected characteristics loses their seat following the result of a recall poll. However, equally if a recalled Member without protected characteristics is replaced by an individual with protected characteristics, this could increase representation of those who share protected characteristics. The scope for this will depend on a number of factors, including the action political parties have taken in relation to candidate selection. This links to guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers under section 30 of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024. An equality impact assessment was carried out in relation to that guidance. There are no mitigating actions that can be taken to limit the potential impact, due to the circumstances leading to a Member being removed as a result of recall are likely to vary greatly and therefore cannot be predicted.

The Bill ensures the Welsh Ministers have the powers to provide for much of the operational detail necessary to implement the system of recall in regulations to be made under section 11 of the Bill. The Bill also amends section 13 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and places a duty on the Welsh Ministers to make provision prohibiting the making or publishing of false or misleading statements of fact, before or during a Senedd election for the purpose of affecting the return of any candidate.

The Welsh Government will continue to monitor the impacts arising from the legislation over the course of the legislative scrutiny process and implementation of the provisions, including reviewing the impact assessments as necessary and appropriate. This will include a reassessment of the impacts when the Welsh Government develops the subsequent regulations that will implement the system of recall. On the provisions relating to strengthening the Senedd’s standards process, responsibility for monitoring the impacts will be for the Senedd, the Senedd Commission and the Senedd Commissioner for Standards. As the policy proposals relating to the system of recall originated from the Senedd it is anticipated that it will want to conduct a review of the implementation of the system, after such time in which it has been used.