52.New section 30B makes provision about the appointment of lay members including how they are to be recruited, appointed, and cease to hold office. This includes provision for automatic termination of appointment of a lay member in certain circumstances.
53.As set out in new section 30A(3) and (4) it is for the Senedd to determine in Standing Orders the number of members the Committee is to have, including the number of lay members, subject to a minimum of one. This discretion is restricted by section 30B(1) which provides that Standing Orders may not allow for there to be more lay members than elected Members of the Senedd appointed to that Committee.
54.Subsection (2) requires that lay members must be appointed by way of a resolution of the Senedd and subsection (3) requires that the motion for such a resolution can only be tabled with the agreement of the Presiding Officer, and once any procedural steps required by Standing Orders have been completed. Subsection (4) requires that any lay member who is put forward for appointment by a resolution at subsection (3) for appointment must have been selected on merit based on a process of fair and open competition. It will be for the Senedd to determine the detail of the recruitment process.
55.Subsection (5) provides that the term of office for a lay member is to be for a fixed period of no more than six years and that this period may end after the dissolution of the Senedd, meaning that a lay member appointment can continue despite the dissolution of the Senedd and the formation of a new Senedd. Other terms and conditions of appointment are for the Senedd to determine and may be set out in Standing Orders. Subsection (10) provides that an individual may hold office as a lay member for a maximum of two terms and those terms do not need to be consecutive.
56.Subsection (6) provides that if the Senedd makes provision in Standing Orders to establish a review or appeal sub-committee as described in section 30A(6)(c), then the “pool” of lay members appointed under section 30B(2) must include a person who is legally qualified. Subsection (7) explains that a person is legally qualified for the purposes of subsection (6) if they have a general qualification within the meaning of section 71(3)(c) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41).
57.Subsection (8) sets out that a person will be disqualified from being appointed to be a lay member if they hold any of the offices specified in subsection (9) or have ever held an office specified in paragraphs (a) to (h) of subsection (9).
58.Subsection (11) provides for the circumstances in which a person automatically ceases to hold office as a lay member including express provision that if a person is a candidate in a Senedd general election (after the period for giving notice of withdrawal of candidature has ended) they cannot continue as a lay member, nor if they become disqualified from appointment as a lay member in accordance with subsection (8). The reference to the period for notice of withdrawal of candidature is a reference to any such period as defined in an Order made under section 13 of the 2006 Act.
59.Subsection (12) sets out other ways in which a lay member may cease to hold office; by resigning or by being removed by resolution of the Senedd, agreed by a two thirds majority. Subsection (13) requires that any such resolution may only be tabled with the consent of the Presiding Officer, and only after any procedural steps required by Standing Orders have been completed. Subsection (14) sets out that the Standing Orders must include a process by which any complaint made about the misconduct of a lay member is to be investigated and adjudicated upon (although section 18(4) of the Bill provides that provision of this type is not mandatory until 7 November 2027 or provision has been made in the Standing Orders about the appointment of lay members to the Committee, whichever is the sooner).
60.Subsection (15) provides that the Senedd Commission may determine the remuneration and any allowances to be paid to lay members and may make those payments to them.
61.Subsection (16) clarifies that, for the purposes of section 30B, a “lay member” includes a lay member of the Standards of Conduct Committee and a lay member of a sub-committee of the Standards of Conduct Committee who is not a member of the Standards of Conduct Committee itself.
Commentary on Sections Section 30A – Standards of Conduct Committee Section 30B – Lay Members of the Standards of Conduct Committee etc.