The Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner was the independent watchdog that dealt with complaints about Member of the Scottish Parliaments between 2002 and 2010.
The role was created by the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Act 2002. Following an open recruitment process, Dr Jim Dyer was appointed as the first Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, from April 2003. [1] The role involved 5–10 days of work a month and the commissioner had no staff. [2] Dyer served two three-year terms. [3] As commissioner he ruled that Wendy Alexander had broken Parliamentary rules about registering donations. [4] In 2009 Dyer was succeeded by Stuart Allan. [5]
The Scottish Parliamentary Commissions and Commissioners etc. Act 2010 transferred the powers to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland. The post was abolished by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (Scottish Statutory Instrument 2013/197). [6]
A notary public of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business. A notary's main functions are to validate the signature of a person ; administer oaths and affirmations; take affidavits and statutory declarations, including from witnesses; authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents; take acknowledgments ; protest notes and bills of exchange; provide notice of foreign drafts; prepare marine or ship's protests in cases of damage; provide exemplifications and notarial copies; and, to perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction. Such transactions are known as notarial acts, or more commonly, notarizations. The term notary public only refers to common-law notaries and should not be confused with civil-law notaries.
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as Scottish councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majority of their funding from the Scottish Government, but operate independently and are accountable to their local electorates. Councils raise additional income via the Council Tax, a locally variable domestic property tax, and Business rates, a non-domestic property tax.
In the United Kingdom, the Electoral Commission is the national election commission, created in 2001 as a result of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It is an independent agency that regulates party and election finance and sets standards for how elections should be run.
The Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada is an entity of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament, who administers the Conflict of Interest Act and the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons and is supported in this role by the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The position came into effect on July 9, 2007, with the coming into force of the Conflict of Interest Act. This act, in turn, was enacted as part of the Federal Accountability Act.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards.
The Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which established that the Scottish Ministers had to issue a code of conduct for councillors, and put in place mechanisms for dealing with councillors in contravention of the code. It was introduced by Scottish Executive minister Wendy Alexander.
The Committee on Standards in Public Life(CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code of conduct called the Seven Principles of Public Life, also known as the Nolan principles after the first chairman of the committee, Lord Nolan.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) comprises the offices of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) and the Health Service Commissioner for England (HSC). The Ombudsman is responsible for considering complaints by the public that UK Government departments, public authorities and the National Health Service in England have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service.
The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is a body of the Scottish Parliament responsible for the administration of the parliament. It also has a role in provision of services to commissioners and other statutory appointments made by the parliament.
The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is the organisation that handles complaints about public services in Scotland. The Ombudsman service is independent of government and with a duty to act impartially.
The Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (OCPAS) regulates and monitors the way in which ministerial appointments are made to the boards of public bodies in Scotland. The Office was founded in 2004, and is headed by the Commissioner, currently Bill Thomson.
The Scottish Information Commissioner is responsible for the promotion and enforcement of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004(Scottish EIRs). The current Scottish Information Commissioner is Daren Fitzhenry who took up post on 16 October 2017.
Kevin Harry Dunion is the Convener of the Standards Commission for Scotland and was the first Scottish Information Commissioner 2003−2012. He is an Honorary Professor in the University of Dundee School of Law and a member of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. He was formerly Rector of the University of St Andrews 2008−11.
The Standards Commission for Scotland is an independent body that has the purpose of advancing high ethical standards in public life. Its main tool is the promotion and enforcement of Codes of Conduct for councillors and those appointed to devolved public bodies.
Scottish Parliament committees are small groups of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who meet on a regular basis to scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government, conduct inquiries into subjects within their remit and examine legislation. Much of the everyday work of the Scottish Parliament is done by these committees.
The Ministerial Code is a document setting out "rules" and standards for government ministers in the United Kingdom. Separate codes exist for ministers of the Scottish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Welsh Government.
An ombudsman, ombudswoman, ombudsperson, ombud, ombuds, or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament but with a significant degree of independence. In some countries, an inspector general, citizen advocate or other official may have duties similar to those of a national ombudsman and may also be appointed by a legislature. Below the national level, an ombudsman may be appointed by a state, local, or municipal government. Unofficial ombudsmen may be appointed by, or even work for, a corporation such as a utility supplier, newspaper, NGO, or professional regulatory body.
The Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland is an ombudsman in Scotland with the responsibility for investigating complaints about Members of the Scottish Parliament, councillors of the 32 Councils of Scotland, and members of Scottish public bodies. The Commissioner also monitors the appointment of members of specified public bodies in Scotland by the Scottish Ministers.
James Martin is the chair of Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. He was Scotland's first independent police complaints commissioner 2007–2009 and was Scottish Public Services Ombudsman 2009–2017.
The Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Act 2002 is legislation that introduced arrangements for complaints against any Member of the Scottish Parliament to be investigated independently. It established the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, who was given powers to summon witnesses and compel evidence.