The Senedd's Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee (PAPAC) has raised key concerns about the UK Public Office (Accountability) Bill, focusing on scrutiny, stakeholder engagement, and alignment with existing legislation in Wales.
Speaking in today's Debate on the Legislative Consent Motion on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, Mr Isherwood who Chairs the PAPAC, said following an evidence session with the Deputy First Minister on February 26th, the Committee welcomed ongoing engagement but expressed disappointment at the limited opportunity to consider the updated Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum – LCM – which was withdrawn and replaced last week.
He also said that the Committee highlighted the need for stronger and earlier stakeholder engagement.
He said:
"In our correspondence, we asked for details about the Stakeholder Forum held by the Welsh Government on 11th March, and I welcome the information provided.
"I note that the event focused on helping stakeholders understand the Bill’s main provisions.
"This is helpful in enabling the Senedd to understand the levels of engagement that have taken place, particularly as engagement during the development of this Bill was limited.
"Proactive engagement and involvement is important in building clarity and confidence among those who will be affected by the legislation."
Questions were also raised about how the Bill aligns with the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill, passed by the Senedd last week.
Mr Isherwood added:
"In response, the Deputy First Minister acknowledged that there is a perceived connection between the ‘offence of misleading the public’ in this Bill and the Senedd Bill’s ‘deliberate deception’ provisions, but confirmed that the Welsh Government does not currently see an overlap between the two Bills in practice because the Senedd Bill provisions will not deal directly with the executive functions of the Welsh Ministers."
He further stated:
"We also recognise that, whilst the Senedd as an institution is excluded from the provisions on the Duty of Candour and misleading the public, Members of the Senedd will be subject to the new statutory offences in Part 3 of the Bill, which will replace the existing common law offence of misconduct in public office.
"Following our session, the Deputy First Minister also made a commitment to provide further information on assessments made by the Welsh Government on the interaction between this Bill and existing mechanisms of parliamentary privilege, to ensure clarity for Ministers and Members of the Senedd on the practical impact of this legislation. The Deputy First Minister confirmed in his response to the Committee that parliamentary privilege has not formed part of discussions with the UK Government and is likely to be outside the scope of the Bill."
In concluding, Mr Isherwood welcomed the Deputy First Minister’s engagement with the Committee and noted that further scrutiny will now fall to the next Senedd and its relevant Committee, as the Bill will now be carried over to the next Parliamentary Session at Westminster after May.
