Senedd committee raises concerns over Bill to block MSs from misleading public during elections

Emily Price 

A Senedd committee has raised strong concerns about new legislation that will make it a criminal offence for Members to mislead the public during Welsh elections.

The disquiet comes ahead of a key debate on the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill taking place in Cardiff Bay on Tuesday (January 12).

The legislation aims to strengthen the current systems that help hold Members of the Senedd to account.

It proposes a recall system to remove an MS in certain circumstances, and introduces a new criminal offence relating to the making or publishing of false or misleading statements during Senedd election campaigns.

The Bill also proposes that the Senedd’s watchdog, Commissioner Douglas Bain, should be allowed to launch investigations on his own initiative, rather than only those referred to them.

The Senedd Member Accountability Bill Committee, which was established to examine the Bill and gather evidence, agrees that strengthened ways to hold MSs to account should be welcomed.

However, the committee has warned that “important changes” are needed before the Bill moves to the next stage.

The committee is chaired by Labour MS David Rees and members include Labour’s Lesley Griffiths and Buffy Williams, Welsh Conservative Sam Rowlands and Plaid Cymru MS Sioned Williams.

Among their key concerns includes the limited time allocated to look at the Bill.

The legislation was introduced late in the Sixth Senedd, which the committee says has reduced the opportunity to hear from the public and from stakeholders.

Members have also raised concerns about “missing details” on how the new systems would work, such as arrangements for a recall vote and the definition of false or misleading statements which are not included in the Bill itself.

These details would instead be set out later in secondary legislation made by the Welsh Government.

The committee has cautioned that creating a new criminal offence for making or publishing false statements during election campaigns is complex and must be handled carefully “to avoid undermining free speech”.

There are also concerns that the proposed recall system would not be fully in place until well into the next Senedd term.

The Plenary debate on Tuesday will allow MSs to consider the committee’s findings before voting on the Bill’s general principles.

David Rees MS, Chair of the Committee and Senedd Deputy Presiding Officer, said: “We have looked at this Bill within a very tight and demanding timeframe, and the issues are not straightforward.

“Strengthening the ways we hold Members to account is essential for public trust, and the Senedd should get this right.

“While the committee supports the ideas behind the Bill, it is clear to us that it will need significant amendment and real improvement if it is to be good law that will deliver on its aims for the people of Wales.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We thank the committees for their work in scrutinising this legislation, which sets out to build stronger foundations for Welsh democracy.

“The Bill stems from cross-party consensus and follows recommendations from the Standards of Conduct Committee’s inquiry into individual member accountability.

“Having carefully considered the committees’ reports we have accepted, accepted in principle, or noted the significant majority of the recommendations ahead of the General Principles debate.”