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

The Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill introduces a system of recall of Members of the Senedd from office during their term. It will allow electors the final say on whether a Member of the Senedd should be removed or retained following one of two possible trigger events having occurred:

• a Member is convicted of an offence in the United Kingdom and receiving a custodial sentence or ordered to be imprisoned or detained (and it is a sentence that does not result in automatic disqualification from office)
• the Senedd agreeing to submit a Member to a recall poll following a recommendation from the Standards of Conduct Committee (‘SoCC’) to impose the sanction of recall.

It also includes measures which aim to strengthen the Senedd’s standards process including:

• providing for additional flexibility for the Senedd Commissioner for Standards (‘the Commissioner’) to carry out an investigation into a Member’s conduct of their own initiative
• allowing the Senedd (should they choose to do so) the ability to appoint lay Members to the SoCC
• requiring the Senedd to establish a SoCC in every future Seneddau, and
• providing for the ability for the Senedd to establish an appeals mechanism as part of the standards process.

The Bill also clarifies the Welsh Ministers’ existing powers in the Government of Wales Act 2006 to make provision about the conduct of Senedd elections and introduces a duty upon Welsh Ministers to make provision prohibiting the making or publishing of false statements of fact.

Overall, the measures in the Bill are not considered to have any differential impacts on people who share protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act 2010.

The impact on following protected characteristics have been considered:

• Age
• Disability (social model of disability*)
• Gender reassignment (this includes the act of transitioning)
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion, belief and non-belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation (Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual)
• Marriage and civil partnership.

* Welsh Government uses the social model of disability. We understand that disabled people are not disabled by their impairments but by barriers that they encounter in society. Ensuring that your proposal removes barriers, rather than creating them, is the best way to improve equality for disabled people. For more information, go to the intranet and search ‘social model’.

The measures in the Bill have also been considered in relation to any impacts on those from low-income households, as set out in the Wales socio-economic duty. Overall, the measures do not have any differential impacts on this group of people.

The Recall system

The potential impacts on people who share protected characteristics, as a result of a of a Member of the Senedd losing their seat following the result of a recall poll, have been considered.

Overall, the measures are not considered to have any differential impact on people who share protected characteristics or impacts on those from low-income households. The removal of a Member of the Senedd may result in a reduction of representation within the Senedd of groups who share protected characteristics, if that Member shared one or more of those characteristics.

Equally, if the recalled Member is replaced by a Member with similar or other protected characteristics, this could increase representation of those who share protected characteristics. The scope for this will depend upon a number of factors, including the action taken by political parties 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.

The circumstances leading to a removal of a Member of the Senedd cannot be predicted but rather would be in response to the conduct of that Member. No evidence has been identified to suggest that Members with protected characteristics would be more at risk of being recalled than Members who do not shared these protected characteristics.

There are no mitigating actions that can be taken to limit this potential differential 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.

Appointment of lay members to the Senedd Standards of Conduct Committee

The Bill provides for the Senedd should it chose to do so, to appoint lay members to sit on the SoCC. The purpose of this is to provide a source of independence, and expertise to the standards process, specifically at the decision-making stage.

The Senedd Commission on behalf of the SoCC will manage the process of recruiting lay members and final appointments will be confirmed by a vote of the whole Senedd. Whilst the Bill does not include specific provision about any Diversity and Inclusion related criteria for candidates, the SoCC may wish to set a preference for the Senedd Commission (who will carry out the recruitment process) to aim to recruit individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds and expertise, including those who share protected characteristics and therefore would represent the diversity of both the Senedd and wider Welsh population, that the Senedd serves and represents. This will ensure diversity during the decision-making stage of the Senedd’s standards process, which lay Members will play a role in.

The Senedd’s commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is demonstrated in its Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-2026, published by the Senedd Commission. The strategy outlines actions that the Commission will undertake to build “a representative, inclusive place to work”.

Consideration has been given to whether any aspects of the policy proposals to introduce a system of recall for Members of the Senedd and the measures to strengthen the Senedd’s standards process, have any positive or negative impacts on human rights.

Article 6: Right to fair trial

The introduction of the recall system for Members of the Senedd, does not provide for delaying the holding of a recall poll until the expiry of the criminal appeals period.

The impact of this proposal on the right provided under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’) - to a fair trial has been considered and it has been concluded that the proposal does not prevent a Member from exercising their right to appeal their conviction and sentence.

Article 3, Protocol 1: Right to free elections/Right to stand for election (‘A3P1’)

The introduction of a recall system for Members of the Senedd may result in a Member losing their seat should the electorate vote to remove them, and as such interfere with their right to sit as a member.

In the circumstances where a Member has been convicted and sentenced to a period of imprisonment (Trigger event A in the Bill), but the Member has appealed their conviction and sentence, the recall system and specifically the holding of a recall vote will not be delayed. It has been considered that this could impact a Member who loses their seat, but subsequently successfully appeals their conviction or sentence, but is unable to regain their seat. However, the proposal to not delay the process whilst an appeal is on-going is justified, given the proposal seeks to strike the balance between the consequences for a Member against the importance of a recall taking effect without undue delay and therefore having a potential negative impact on the democratic process.

In respect of Trigger event B in the Bill, for a recall poll, there are a range of safeguards contained within it; such as the requirement for there to be a recommendation of the recall sanction by the SoCC; the requirement for the SoCC to follow guidance when they decide to recommend the sanction and the need for a final resolution of the whole Senedd to agree it.

The impact on a Member as outlined above is ultimately mitigated on the grounds that they will have an opportunity to put their case before the electorate when they vote in a recall poll.

Consideration has been given to the impact on convention rights of the retrospective element relating to the timing of the commission of the offence by a person before they become a Member of the Senedd and before the provisions come into force (the conviction must happen after the provisions have come into force and after a person becomes a Member). It is concluded that any impact on A3P1 is limited and justified in the context of the purpose of the measures in the Bill. Any impacts are mitigated as they are avoidable as any person liable to be convicted after an election can choose not to stand for that election and thus avoid the consequence of being recalled if convicted and sentenced to period of imprisonment. The policy intention is to make Members of the Senedd more accountable to the electorate and that purpose would be severely undermined if the risk of a Member losing their seat could only be imposed in relation to offences committed after the person becomes a Member and after the measures in the Bill come into force.

Article 8: Right to privacy

There is a potential negative impact upon Members of the Senedd arising from the extension of the Commissioner for Standards functions, in enabling them to carry out investigations into their conduct in the absence of a complaint having been made.

Any impact is mitigated by the threshold that has been included in the Bill which must be met before the Commissioner can exercise this function.

It is not considered that the Bill will have any specific impact either positive or adverse, on EU, EEA or Swiss citizens (whose rights are protected by the Citizens Rights Agreements) compared to others living in Wales.