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 (approved by the Scottish Parliament) and those appointed to devolved public bodies.
The Standards Commission is concerned with ethical conduct. It deals with complaints of misconduct against individual members. It does not deal with issues of maladministration; these are matters for the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
The Commission was established under the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. The Commission Members are appointed by the Scottish Parliament but are expected to be independent of government in its workings. The current convener is Kevin Dunion.
The Commission provide guidance and training on the application of the Codes to assist in promoting high standards of conduct. [1]
The Commission publishes a Code of Conduct for Councillors, which sets out the standards of behaviour expected of councillors in Scotland. [2] The first version came into force in May 2003. The most recent version came into force on 21 December 2015. [3] Local authorities are encouraged also to establish their own codes of conduct (consistent with the Standards Commission's) and to enforce these codes themselves. [4]
There is a model code of conduct produced for members of devolved bodies. [5]
The Commission comprises a Convener and four Commission Members who are appointed by the Scottish Parliament. Kevin Dunion is the current Convener, taking up the position on 1 February 2017. [6]
In addition to the Commission, the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 established the office of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland (formerly known as the Chief Investigating Officer). The Commissioner is not a part of the Commission but has a duty to investigate complaints of misconduct referred to him. He is not entirely independent though; he must comply with any directions given by the Commission, which may not however direct him as to how to carry any particular investigation out.
The Commission has authority over:
32 local authorities and 105 other public bodies. [7] Community councils are not under this authority.
The Devolved Public Bodies [8] over which the Commission has authority are:
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c.23) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications. It was introduced by the Tony Blair Labour government ostensibly to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet and strong encryption.
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as 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.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive. It oversees the English National Health Service (NHS). The department is led by the secretary of state for health and social care with three ministers of state and three parliamentary under-secretaries of state.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to practise within the UK. It sets and reviews standards for their education, training, conduct and performance. The NMC also investigates allegations of impaired fitness to practise.
Public bodies of the Scottish Government are organisations that are funded by the Scottish Government. They form a tightly meshed network of executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies ("quangoes"); tribunals; and nationalised industries. Such public bodies are distinct from executive agencies of the Scottish Government, as unlike them they are not considered to be part of the Government and staff of public bodies are not civil servants, although executive agencies are listed in the Scottish Government's directory of national public bodies alongside other public bodies.
The Standards Board for England was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Established under the Local Government Act 2000, it was responsible for promoting high ethical standards in local government. It oversaw the nationally imposed Code of Conduct, which covered elected and co-opted members across a range of local authorities. The board maintained an independent national overview of local investigations into allegations that members' conduct might have fallen short of the required standards. In certain cases the board itself investigated allegations. It could not impose sanctions on members, but if it considered that further action might be necessary, it referred cases to the Adjudication Panel for England or to the relevant authority's own standards committee for determination. Standards committees could suspend members for up to six months. The Adjudication Panel could disqualify members for up to five years. The Standards Board for England also provided advice, and produced formal guidance, to members and officers on the Code of Conduct.
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 Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is the national association of Scottish councils and acts as an employers' association for its 32 member authorities.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 4 of the 59 Scottish seats in the House of Commons.
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.
NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, supported by seven special non-geographic health boards, and Public Health Scotland.
The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) is a professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists practising in the United Kingdom.
The Office of Police Integrity (OPI) was the Australian state of Victoria independent police oversight and anti-corruption agency established by the Victorian Government in November 2004. OPI ceased operation on 9 February 2013 and was replaced by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). OPI's official role was to detect, investigate and prevent police corruption and serious misconduct and to ensure that police members had regard to the human rights set out in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.
The Health and Social Care Select Committee is a Departmental Select Committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its remit is to examine the policy, administration and expenditure of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and its associated agencies and public bodies. The Clerks of the Committee are Previn Desai and Joanna Dodd.
In Welsh local authority politics, the term prejudicial interest is used to describe a particular type of conflict of interest involving councillors. When a councillor has an interest in a topic under debate which may prejudice their ability to fairly and objectively consider the subject, he or she is said to have a prejudicial interest. An example would be a councillor discussing a planning application for a company in which he or she has an interest. The councillor has an interest in the plans being considered and is therefore considered to have a "prejudicial interest". Under a statutory Model Code of Conduct, it is the responsibility of Welsh councillors to declare certain interests prior to discussions, and if prejudicial interests are declared, they must leave the room until the matter in which they have an interest has been decided. The regulatory authority is the Standards Board for Wales and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales carries out investigations. Anyone can make an allegation of an undeclared prejudicial interest, but this can only be investigated after the event.
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 Public Services Ombudsman for Wales was established by section 1(1) of the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005. The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales brings together the jurisdictions of various offices he replaced, namely the Local Government Ombudsman for Wales, the Health Service Ombudsman for Wales, the Welsh Administration Ombudsman and the Social Housing Ombudsman for Wales.
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 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.