Assembly to develop ‘respect and dignity’ policy

A NEW “Respect and Dignity” policy is to be developed at the National Assembly following recent concerns about sexual harassment and bullying.

All four party leaders – Carwyn Jones, Andrew RT Davies, Leanne Wood and Neil Hamilton – as well as the sole Liberal Democrat AM Kirsty Williams met with Presiding Officer Elin Jones and Jane Bryant, who chairs the Standards of Conduct Committee.

Afterwards they issued a joint statement which said: “As those who have overall responsibility for the conduct of Members and our political parties in the National Assembly for Wales, we very much regret that individuals may have been affected by inappropriate behaviour on the part of Members of this institution.

“The Code of Conduct for AMs already prohibits the kind of inappropriate behaviour which has recently attracted public attention and our aim is to ensure that everyone – AMs, staff and the public – are crystal clear about that. We are however, going to work together to clarify and strengthen our procedures to ensure that individuals feel more empowered to report allegations of inappropriate behaviour, and that such allegations are investigated thoroughly and fairly – for all involved.

“As a first practical step, the Assembly Commission will work with the Standards of Conduct Committee to develop a Respect and Dignity Policy which will spell out that inappropriate behaviour has no place in this institution.”

The Code of Conduct for AMs covers their behaviour towards everyone, not just members of staff.

The statement said: “Complaints can be discussed on a strictly private and confidential basis, and your name will not be made public. We urge anyone who wishes to complain about the inappropriate behaviour of an AM to approach the Assembly’s Standards Commissioner. Any allegation received by the Clerk of the National Assembly that a Member has breached the Code will be referred immediately to the Commissioner. As leaders of our groups, we accept a presumption that we will refer any allegations of breaches of the Code in future to the Commissioner. In all cases, this will be subject to the complainant’s consent.

“Assembly Commission and Members’ Support staff can currently access a 24-hour confidential telephone support line if they have a problem they wish to talk through. We accept, however, that more should be done to make the process of reporting a complaint easier. The Assembly Commission, in consultation with the Standards of Conduct Committee and Standards Commissioner, will therefore promote a point of contact to which anyone, whoever they may be, who has experienced inappropriate behaviour can turn for advice on the procedures and support available.

“The Llywydd [Presiding Officer] will also ask the Standards Commissioner to review how the political parties’ policies and procedures can be aligned to the Assembly’s new Respect and Dignity Policy which will form part of the Code.

“We all recognise that we have a responsibility to ensure that the National Assembly is a safe environment for those who work here, for those who visit the estate and for anyone who has dealings with our Members or employees.”