#2026/9Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Act 2026
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
This law creates a recall system for Members of the Senedd in Wales. A member can face a public recall vote if they are convicted of an offence that leads to imprisonment or detention, including a suspended sentence, or if the Senedd votes for a recall after a Standards of Conduct Committee report. If voters choose removal by a majority, the member’s seat becomes vacant. It also strengthens the Senedd’s ethics system. The Standards of Conduct Committee must include independent lay members, the Standards Commissioner can start investigations without waiting for a complaint, and rules around investigations, eligibility, and disclosure are tightened. The practical effect is greater political accountability for Senedd members and clearer procedures for election and conduct oversight.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- Creates recall polls that can remove a Member of the Senedd after specified criminal convictions or serious conduct findings
- Requires the Standards of Conduct Committee to include independent lay members and sets rules for their appointment and role
- Allows the Senedd Commissioner for Standards to start investigations on their own initiative
Obligations
What this law requires
A court in England and Wales that convicts a Member of the Senedd and sentences or orders the member to imprisonment or detention must notify the Presiding Officer of the conviction and the sentence or order.
If an appeal overturns the relevant conviction, sentence, or detention order, the court handling or receiving the appeal must notify the Presiding Officer that the conviction, sentence, or order has been overturned.
The Standards of Conduct Committee must not recommend submitting a Member of the Senedd to a recall poll unless recall guidance has been issued, and before making such a recommendation it must have regard to that guidance.
If no recall guidance has been issued, the Standards of Conduct Committee must prepare draft recall guidance, carry out public consultation on it, lay the draft before Senedd Cymru, and issue the guidance if Senedd Cymru approves it by resolution.
The Standards of Conduct Committee must bring any public consultation on recall guidance to the attention of every Member of the Senedd and the Senedd Commissioner for Standards.