Standards of Conduct Committee
SOC(4)-04-13: Paper 2 – Annex B – Tuesday 9 July 2013
1. The purpose of this paper is to inform the Standards of Conduct Committee of specific issues and difficulties that have arisen in relation to the Rules on the Registration and Declaration of Members’ Interests and to invite the Committee to consider a review of the Rules on Registration and Declaration of Members’ Interests, to be prioritised as part of the current review of standards procedures.
2. Section 36 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (the Act) requires the Assembly’s Standing Orders to include provision for a register of Members interests and for that register to be published and made available to the public. The specific requirements for the Registration of Members’ Interests are set out in the Assembly’s Standing Order 2. The Standing Order requirements are supplemented by the ‘Guidance on the Registration and Declaration of members’ Financial and Other Interests’, which is approved by resolution of the Assembly in Plenary. Standing Order 2 and the detailed Guidance are attached at Annex 1 and 2. Throughout this paper the Standing Order requirements and the Guidance are referred to collectively as the Rules on Registration and Declaration. Failure to correctly register Members’ interest is potentially a criminal offence under Section 36(7) of the Act.
3. In accordance with Standing Order 22.2, the Standards Committee must “supervise the arrangements for the compilation, maintenance and accessibility of the Register of Members’ Interests…and the form and content of the Register and the Records”. Under this remit the Committee has responsibility for preparing and maintaining the Rules on Registration and Declaration of Members’ Interests.
4. In 2001, the Standards Committee commissioned an overarching review of the Standards regime of the National Assembly for Wales, which was undertaken by Professor Diana Woodhouse of Oxford Brookes University[1]. This review, and its recommendations, laid the foundation for the current Rules on Registration and Declaration, as well as the Code of Conduct and the Committee’s Complaints Procedure.
5. Responsibility for providing advice to Members on the interpretation of the Rules lies with the designated Registrar of Members’ Interests. This role is currently undertaken by the Head of Legislation and Chamber Services, with the day to day advice provided on the Registrar’s behalf by the Table Office.
6. The Rules on Registration and Declaration have not been reviewed or revised for a number of years. There is a need to update the Rules to reflect correct and current terminology. For example, in a number of categories the Rules refer to ‘the Assembly’ where it would be more appropriate to now refer to the Welsh Government and/or the Assembly Commission (in practice, the rules are interpreted to refer to the Welsh Government / Commission but changes should be made formally to Standing Orders and Guidance).
7. This paper also outlines a number of areas that have caused Members difficulty, or where concern has been raised on the content of the Rules. Following consideration of these issues by the Committee, there may also be a need to revise the Rules to reflect any changes proposed.
Q1. Is the Committee content for the Registrar to make minor amendments to the Guidance to use correct terminology where needed?
Q2. The Committee is invited to consider reviewing the Rules and guidance on Registration and Declaration to address the issues set out in this paper and any others considered appropriate, as part of the Committee’s review of standards procedures.
8. In the final period of the Third Assembly, and during the early stages of the Fourth Assembly, a number of issues were experienced by the Registrar’s Office in relation to the rules on the Registration of Members’ Interests. These issues were predominantly raised by Assembly Members and relate specifically to how the Rules affected them. However, queries have also been received from outside the Assembly, and issues have been raised in the media.
9. The specific issues identified are highlighted below. In fulfilling our role as Registrars, we are able to provide Members with advice on how the current Rules should be interpreted, taking advice from Legal Services where appropriate. The Committee may, however, wish to consider the principles that lie behind these issues and decide whether they wish to make minimal changes to strengthen the Rules; or more substantial changes as part of a wider review of the Rules.
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Standing Order Requirement: Employment, office, trade, profession or vocation (apart from membership of the Assembly) for which the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member over the age of sixteen, is remunerated, or in which the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member over the age of sixteen, has any pecuniary interest. |
10. The status of Pensions within Category (ii) has been an issue for some time. Some Members choose to register the receipt of pensions others have chosen not to.
11. The Standing Orders and the Rules are silent on pensions, and Members are therefore required to interpret the Rules in this respect. The current Rules do not provide a definition of what constitutes ‘remuneration’, and it is therefore open to interpretation.
12. The Standing Orders state that Members must register details of “Employment, office, trade, profession or vocation (apart from membership of the Assembly), for which the Member is remunerated or in which the Member has any pecuniary interest.”. The Rules go further and suggest that Members should also register any sources of remuneration which do not fall clearly within any other category.
13. In relation to a pension from a particular organisation, it is clear that the pension is being paid because of past employment. It can therefore be argued that although a Member is in receipt of a pension, it is not remuneration for ‘employment, office, trade, etc.’ as that employment is no longer current. However the Rules state that Members should also register any source of remuneration that does not clearly fall within any other category. The receipt of the pension could therefore be regarded as remuneration that does not fall within any other category, so there could be a case to register the pension under this category.[2]
Q3. The Committee is invited to consider whether the definition of “remuneration” should be clarified to make the position on pensions more clear.
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Standing Order Requirement Any remuneration or other material benefit which a Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, receives from any public or private company or other body which has tendered for, is tendering for, or has, a contract with the Assembly. |
14. Concern has been raised by Members that it is not always easy to establish whether any ‘public or private company or other body’ from which they receive some form of remuneration or material benefit ‘has tendered for, is tendering for, or has, a contract with the Assembly’. Members have questioned whether it is a reasonable requirement in particular when it may not be possible to establish this due to the commercial confidentiality associated with specific contracts.
16. One way of addressing this issue would be to add a caveat to the Rules (as in other Categories) to specify that registration is required is ‘to the Member’s knowledge’ the body has tendered for, is tendering for, or has, a contract with the Assembly. This form of words is used in relation to the interests of partners and dependent children of Members.
16. There is also no threshold associated with this category, and therefore remuneration or other material benefit of any amount would need to be registered, if it was received from a ‘body’ that has tendered for, is tendering for, or has, a contract with the Assembly. This would therefore include any gifts or hospitality which are not registrable under Category (iv) as they fall below the threshold[3] for that particular Category.
Q6. The Committee is invited to consider whether (a) the rules for category (v) should be revised to make it clear that any contract must be ‘to the Members’ knowledge’ and (b) a threshold be applied to this category.
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Standing Order Requirement Financial sponsorship (a) as a candidate for election to the Assembly, where to the knowledge of the Member the sponsorship in any case exceeds 25 per cent of the candidate’s election expenses, or (b) as a Member of the Assembly by any person or organisation. In registering such an interest, a Member must state whether any such sponsorship includes any payment to the Member or any material benefit or advantage. |
17. This category, and the associated Rules, are both difficult to understand and difficult to meet in practice. A number of members experienced difficulty in determining whether financial sponsorship received met the criteria stated in the Rules. The Rules state that a Member is required to register/declare the source of any contribution to his or her election expenses in excess of 25 per cent of the total of such expenses.
18. Members must also register and declare any substantial donations which are made by an organisation or company on a regular basis to their constituency party when such donations[4] are linked directly to their own candidacy or membership of the Assembly. However, donations made directly to a constituency party as an expression of general political support, not linked to the Member’s candidacy or membership of the Assembly, do not come within the Assembly’s resolution.
19. In many of the discussions the Registrar had with Members, there was some uncertainty whether contributions made to a constituency party were directly linked to individual candidacy or as a general expression of support. In most cases therefore Members have taken a ‘blanket approach’ and registered that their election expenses were met by the relevant political party.
20. Responsibility for ensuring that registrations are made correctly lies wholly with Assembly Members, and in relation to this category Members must try to establish whether contributions made to the party relate directly to their candidacy. The Registrar cannot give advice on whether registration is formally required without knowing the nature of the contributions made.
Q8. The Committee is invited to consider whether the Rules should be reviewed to clarify the requirements for Members to register financial sponsorship.
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Standing Order Requirement The names of companies or other bodies in which the Member has, either alone or with or on behalf of the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, a beneficial interest, or in which, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or a dependent child of the Member has a beneficial interest, in shareholdings of a market value greater than one per cent of the issued share capital, or less than one per cent but more than an amount specified in any resolution of the Assembly[5]. |
21. This category generally works well and the Rules are clear. However, for the first time in the Fourth Assembly, two issues were raised which related to ‘blind trusts’ and ‘share options’.
In relation to ‘blind trusts’ a question was asked as to whether information regarding shares held in ‘blind trusts’ should be registered.
22. A ‘blind trust’ is generally accepted as a trust in which the executors have full discretion over the assets, and the trust beneficiaries have no knowledge of the holdings of the trust. Blind trusts are created to avoid any potential conflict of interest between the duties of a public officeholder and his or her choice of investment portfolio. In practice therefore it is not possible for a Member to register the names of any companies or other bodies in which they hold shares (as required by the Rules) as this information would not be known to the Member through a Blind Trust. However, the issue and use of blind trusts has generated some criticism in the UK Parliament particularly in relation to UK Ministers.
23. The Assembly’s current Rules are silent on this matter. As such Members who hold shares in a blind trust are not required to register the blind trust itself. Members are unable to register information on specific names of companies (as required by the current Rules) as this information will not be known.
The second matter relates to ‘share options’. The Guidance on shareholdings does not go in to any detail on share options other than to state that interests in shareholdings include share options. As there are no different or specific rules relating to share options, then the approach we have taken is that the specific provisions of the guidance must relate to options in the same way as to shareholdings. However, valuing share options is not straight forward.
Where a person holds a share options they have the ‘option’ to buy or sell shares at a pre-agreed price. I.e. they could be bought at a pre-agreed price which is below the current market value, but once acquired would be worth the current market value. However, shares already purchased through certain ‘option’ schemes could also be sold at a pre-agreed price should the value drop. This makes it very unclear when share options should be valued in different circumstances.
In considering this, there may be scope to add further detail to the guidance in relation to share options to clarify the situation. However, this may require seeking specific financial advice to ensure that the interpretation of share options is correct and consistent with current practice, etc.
Q11. The Committee is invited to consider whether the Rules be amended to (a) require members to Register that they hold shares in a blind trust; and (b) add clarity over the registration of share options.
Category (x) Public Bodies
Standing Order Requirement
Paid or unpaid membership or chairmanship by the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependant child of the Member, of any body funded in whole or in part by the Assembly[6].
24. There are a number of issues associated with this category that would benefit from clarification.
25. The guidance on this category states that: ‘the Assembly has extensive funding powers in relation to public bodies and any formal association that a Member has with such bodies as a member or chair should be registered. Where the Assembly Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependant child of the Member, has an association with a voluntary body or other body as a member or a chair which receives funding from the Assembly, that should be registered/declared.’
26. There has always been difficulty in assessing whether particular ‘bodies’ are in receipt of Assembly funds. For some bodies it can be clear, but for others it is not. There is added difficulty as bodies could also be indirectly funded, and therefore the link back to Assembly funds can be difficult to trace. This has led to Assembly Members registering membership of bodies that may not require registration.
27. It is also not clear what ‘membership’ means as there is no definition. The Rules relate to Members having an association as a ‘member’ or ‘chair’ – but should membership of a body include all positions that would constitute an association (for example patron or president). Again many Members have chosen to register their positions as patron / president although they argue that this is not strictly membership of a body.
28. The guidance informs Members that they can seek advice from the Presiding Officer / Clerk, etc. on whether a body is funded by the Assembly. This is the only instance where the Guidance suggests that Members may rely on advice from the Presiding Officer. As noted above, it may not always be possible to establish whether a ‘body’ is in receipt of Assembly funds, and therefore not possible for the Presiding Officer / Clerk to give definitive advice. It is ultimately a members own responsibility to ensure compliance with the rules, and this may need to be flagged up more clearly in the guidance.
Q13 – The Committee is invited to consider whether the Rules should be amended to include a clear definition of ‘membership’?
Q12 – The Committee may wish to consider whether the guidance in this area should be revised to make it clear that although the Presiding Officer / Clerk can give advice, responsibility ultimately rests with the Member.
30. Several Members have expressed concern that the current Rules require Members to register the interests of their ‘dependent children’. A dependent child is defined as “any person who, at the time of registration is under the age of sixteen or is under the age of nineteen and receiving full-time education by attendance at a recognised educational establishment…and is a child of the Member…”.
31. Particular concern has been expressed in relation to the employment of dependent children, although there has been some concern regarding the registration of the interests of dependent children generally. Children can in practice hold part time employment from the age of thirteen, and questions have been raised as to whether it is appropriate to register the employment of children of that age. The National Assembly for Wales is the only legislature in the UK that requires the registration of the employment of dependent children.
32. There are currently three members who have registered the employment of their dependent children. Further registrations were made in the Second and Third Assemblies. Although the details entered in the Register can be made relatively general, it will always be clear that it is the employment of the dependent child that is being registered.
Q14. Is the Committee content that the interests of dependent children should be registered, and if so is the definition of dependent children still appropriate – should the age limit be changed?
33. The Registrar received a number of queries in the Third Assembly, and again in the Fourth Assembly, relating to the receipt of ‘public funds’ by Assembly Members or their partners, and whether these should be specifically and/or separately registered. One specific area that highlights this issue is the receipt of subsidies by farmers, which is one issue that was highlighted in the press in the Third Assembly, and which generated some criticism from outside organisations.
34. This was carefully considered by the Registrar’s office in the Third Assembly, as the Rules are silent on this particular matter.In relation to the Rules that are in place, we are clear that Assembly Members are not required to register specifically or separately the fact that they receive farming subsidies. Members in the Third Assembly and in the Fourth Assembly have correctly Registered details of their farming businesses, they are not required to identify or register the subsidies they receive.
35. The case above highlights one area that affects a number of Assembly Members, however this issue is not limited to subsidies received by farmers as the principle is the same for any ‘public funds’ received by Assembly Members or their partners. The Committee may wish to consider whether this is a matter than requires more detailed consideration.
Q16. The Committee is invited to consider whether the current Rules should be reviewed, in particular whether:
(a) they should include a specific statement that receipt of public funds are not required to be registered if part of overall remuneration received for employment already registered; and (b) whether the receipt of specific ‘public funds’ should be registered specifically and/or separately by Assembly Members?
Agreements for the Provision of Services – SO2.12
36. The Rules contain provisions that require Members to deposit with the Presiding Officer a copy of any agreement they enter into for the provision of services in the Member’s capacity as an Assembly Member. Such an agreement would include, for example, a continuing paid commitment to produce a newspaper column or to take part in a radio or television programme about matters concerning the Assembly – but not to occasional engagements where there is no on-going commitment to provide a service, such as ad hoc current affairs or news interviews or intermittent panel appearances.
37. The Registrar’s office has not received any queries in respect of this provision and no issues have been raised. No formal agreements have been deposited with the Presiding Officer in accordance with the Rules.
38. The fact that no Member has deposited an agreement may simply be that no such agreements have been entered into, but the concern is that it could be due to a lack of clarity on the Rules.
Q19. The Committee is invited to consider whether the Rules on Agreements for the Provision of Services should be clarified.
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Standing Order Requirement
2.6 In the circumstances specified in Standing Order 2, before taking part in any Assembly proceedings, a Member must make an oral declaration of any financial interest which he or she has, or may be expecting to have, or which, to the Member’s knowledge, the Member’s partner or any dependent child of the Member has, or may be expecting to have in any matter arising in those proceedings.
2.7 An oral declaration under Standing Order 2.6 must be made in relation to any interest which is specified in paragraph 5 of the Annex to Standing Order 2 if a particular decision in those proceedings might result in a direct financial advantage to the Member, or, to the Member’s knowledge, the Member’s partner or any dependent child of the Member, greater than that which might accrue to persons affected by the decision generally.
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39. The current Rules, as set out in Standing Order 2, provide very limited parameters for the formal declaration of interests before taking part in Assembly proceedings. In practice, the wording of current Standing Orders means that it is highly unlikely that there will ever be an occasion where a formal declaration is required. The Rules are limited as Members are only required to make a formal declaration ‘if a particular decision in those proceedings might result in a direct financial advantage to the Member … greater than that which might accrue to persons affected by the decision generally.’
40. The nature of Assembly proceedings has changed since the Rules were established, particularly due to formal separation of Government and legislature through the Government of Wales Act 2006. Decisions made in Assembly proceedings now differ in nature with the Welsh Ministers having delegated responsibility through the 2006 Act. Very few decisions are likely to result in a direct financial advantage to a Member over and above the general population.
41. The Committee may wish to consider whether the Rules on the Declaration of Interests are fit for purpose, or whether a wider, perhaps more general, approach should be taken.
Q21. The Committee is invited to consider whether the Rules for the Declaration of Interests prior to taking part in Assembly Proceedings should be reviewed.
42. The Committee is invited to:
a) consider the specific issues and difficulties that have arisen in relation to the Rules on the Registration and Declaration of Members’ Interests, as highlighted in the paper; and
b) agree to prioritise a wider review of the Rules on Registration and Declaration of Members’ Interests, and the associated guidance, as part of the current review of standards procedures.
Annex 1
STANDING ORDER 2 – Financial and Other Interests of Members
Registration of Financial and Other Interests
2.1 The Presiding Officer must maintain and publish a Register of Interests of Members and copies must be available for inspection by Members and by the public.
2.2 The interests set out in the Annex to Standing Order 2 must be registered in the Register of Interests by completion of a form prescribed by the Presiding Officer.
2.3 Within eight weeks of a Member taking the oath of allegiance or making the corresponding affirmation, he or she must complete the form prescribed by the Presiding Officer, setting out all the particulars of the interests required to be registered by Standing Order 2; and must sign the form and deliver it to the Clerk.
2.4 Within four weeks of any change occurring, a Member must notify the Presiding Officer of the change in his or her registered interests by completing the form prescribed by the Presiding Officer and must sign the form and deliver it to the Clerk.
2.5 A Member may deliver the form referred to in Standing Order 2.3 or 2.4 by taking it to the Clerk or arranging for another person to do so or by post, but the form is not to be regarded as having been delivered until it is received by the Clerk.
Declaration of Interests before Taking Part in Any Assembly Proceedings
2.6 In the circumstances specified in Standing Order 2, before taking part in any Assembly proceedings, a Member must make an oral declaration of any financial interest which he or she has, or may be expecting to have, or which, to the Member’s knowledge, the Member’s partner or any dependent child of the Member has, or may be expecting to have in any matter arising in those proceedings.
2.7 An oral declaration under Standing Order 2.6 must be made in relation to any interest which is specified in paragraph 5 of the Annex to Standing Order 2 if a particular decision in those proceedings might result in a direct financial advantage to the Member, or, to the Member’s knowledge, the Member’s partner or any dependent child of the Member, greater than that which might accrue to persons affected by the decision generally.
Lobbying for Reward or Consideration
2.8 A Member must not advocate or initiate any cause or matter on behalf of any body or individual in any Assembly proceedings, or urge any other Member to advocate or initiate any cause or matter in any such proceedings, in return for any payment or benefit in kind, direct or indirect, which the Member, or to the Member’s knowledge his or her partner or any dependent child of the Member, has received or expects to receive.
Prohibition of Voting
2.9 Where a Member is required under Standing Order 2.6 to declare an interest in a matter before taking part in any Assembly proceedings, that Member must not vote on any proposal relating to that matter in those proceedings. Standing Order 2.9 does not apply in relation to the exercise of a casting vote under Standing Order 6.20.
Exclusion of Members and Withdrawal of Rights and Privileges
2.10 After consideration of any report put before it by the committee responsible for the functions specified in Standing Order 22 relating to a Member’s compliance with Standing Order 2, the Assembly may, on a motion proposed by the chair of the committee responsible for the functions specified in Standing Order 22, resolve to exclude that Member from any Assembly proceedings for a period specified in the
motion.
2.11 During the period of a Member’s exclusion, he or she is not entitled to receive any salary from the Assembly and is not permitted to attend any Assembly proceedings.
Agreements for the Provision of Services
2.12 Any Member who has, or who proposes to enter into, an agreement involving the provision of services in the Member’s capacity as a Member must ensure that the agreement:
(i) is not in breach of Standing Order 2.8;
(ii) is in writing;
(iii) indicates the nature of the services to be provided; and
(iv) specifies the payment or benefit to be received.
2.13 As soon as may be after entering into such an agreement, and in any event within four weeks of that date, the Member must provide the Presiding Officer with a copy of the agreement, and the copy must be open to inspection by other Members and by the public.
STANDING ORDER 2 – Financial and Other Interests of Members: Annex
The interests which are to be registered in the Register of Interests of
Members and which for the purposes of Standing Order 2.6 are to be
declared before taking part in any Assembly proceedings.
General
1. Members should, in listing their registrable interests, have regard to any relevant resolutions, codes of practice or guidance notes which the Assembly may have adopted on this matter.
2. Any remunerated activity in the areas of public relations and political advice and consultancy relating to the functions of the Assembly must be included in that part of the register relating to remunerated employment, office or profession. Such activity includes any action connected with any Assembly proceedings, sponsoring of functions in the Assembly buildings, and making representations to the government, or any member of that government or of its staff.
3. The majority of the interests specified in the categories below include a reference to interests independently possessed by or given to the partner or any dependent child of the Member, and these must also be registered if such interests are known to the Member.
4. For the purposes of the registration and declaration of interests under Standing Order 2 specified in this Annex:
(i) a Member's partner means a spouse, civil partner or one of a couple whether of the same sex or of the opposite sex who although not married to each other are living together and treat each other as spouses; and
(ii) a dependent child is any person who, at the time of registration is under the age of sixteen or is under the age of nineteen and receiving full-time education by
attendance at a recognised educational establishment and is:
(a) a child of the Member;
(b) a step-child of the Member by marriage or by civil partnership;
(c) a child legally adopted by the Member;
(d) a child whom the Member intends legally to adopt; or
(e) a child who, for at least the previous six calendar months, has been financially supported by the Member.
The Registrable Interests
5. The registrable interests are:
(i) remunerated directorships held by the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, in public and private
companies including directorships which are individually unremunerated but where remuneration is paid through another company in the same group;
(ii) employment, office, trade, profession or vocation (apart from membership of the Assembly) for which the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member over the age of sixteen, is remunerated, or in which the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member over the age of sixteen, has any pecuniary interest;
(iii) the names of clients when the interests referred to in paragraphs (i) and (ii) above include services by the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member over the age of sixteen, which arise out of, or are related in any manner to, his or her membership of the Assembly;
(iv) gifts, hospitality, material benefits or advantage above a value specified in any resolution of the Assembly received by the Member or, to the Member’s knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, from any company, organisation or person which arise out of, or are related in any manner to, membership of the Assembly;
(v) any remuneration or other material benefit which a Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, receives
from any public or private company or other body which has tendered for, is tendering for, or has, a contract with the Assembly;
(vi) financial sponsorship (a) as a candidate for election to the Assembly, where to the knowledge of the Member the sponsorship in any case exceeds 25 per cent of the candidate’s election expenses, or (b) as a Member of the Assembly by any person or organisation. In registering such an interest, a Member must state whether any such sponsorship includes any payment to the Member or any material benefit or advantage;
(vii) subject to any resolution of the Assembly, overseas visits made by the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, which arise out of, or are related in any manner to, membership of the Assembly where the cost of any such visit has not been wholly borne by the Member or from funds provided by the Assembly or by Parliament or by any organisation of which the Assembly is a member;
(viii) any land and property of the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, which has a substantial value as specified in any resolution of the Assembly or from which a substantial income is derived other than any home used for the personal residential purposes of the Member, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member;
(ix) the names of companies or other bodies in which the Member has, either alone or with or on behalf of the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, a beneficial interest, or in which, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or a dependent child of the Member has a beneficial interest, in shareholdings of a
market value greater than one per cent of the issued share capital, or less than one per cent but more than an amount specified in any resolution of the Assembly;
(x) paid or unpaid membership or chairmanship by the Member or, to the Member's knowledge, the Member's partner or any dependent child of the Member, of any body funded in whole or in part out of funds provided by the Assembly.
Annex 2
Guidance for Assembly Members on the Registration, Declaration and Recording of Members’ Financial and Other Interests.
[Available in the reference document]
[1] The Report of the Woodhouse review is available on the Assembly’s website:
[2] The UK Parliament Rules on Registration specifically state that “Pensions are not in themselves registrable, but identifiable holdings in a self-invested personal pension fund, if of registrable value, are registrable…”.
[3] The threshold for registering Gifts, Hospitality, material benefit or advantage under category (vi) is 0.5 per cent of the basic gross annual salary for an Assembly Member , which currently equates to approx. £269.
[4] The Assembly resolved on 19th May 1999 that “donations are to be regarded as financial sponsorship if such donations in any year are directly linked to a person’s candidacy for election to, or membership of, the Assembly and amount to at least £500 in value (and references above to donations include a single donation)”.
[5] The Assembly resolved on 10 May 2006 that “registration is required in respect of shareholdings with a market value less than 1% of the issued share capital where the value of those shareholdings exceeds 50 per cent of the basic gross annual Assembly salary for an Assembly Member” at the preceding 5th April.
[6] A body funded wholly or in part by the Assembly, means any body that receives funding from the Welsh Assembly Government or the Assembly Commission.