English: Good afternoon, and thank you, Dirprwy Lywydd, for the opportunity to make this statement today. The committee has today laid a revised procedure for dealing with complains against Members of the Senedd, and an accompanying report. The procedure will come into force on 18 July 2022. As elected politicians, we have a responsibility to ensure that we set the highest standards of behaviour and, as Chair of the Standards of Conduct Committee, that is never far from my mind. The procedure for dealing with complaints against Members of the Senedd regulates the process for making, investigating and determining complaints against Members, and is a key tool in setting expectations for the way Members should behave. I am therefore pleased to be able to make this statement today, outlining how the committee has updated and improved the procedure to make it work more effectively for everyone. During the fifth Senedd, a comprehensive review of the code of conduct for Members of the Senedd was completed, and a new code was approved to come into force from the start of the sixth Senedd. To complement this, the committee agreed to consider the existing procedure, and consider whether it remained fit for purpose, as our first substantive piece of work in the sixth Senedd. The committee issued a draft procedure for consultation between 19 January and 21 February 2022, and received 11 responses. The Senedd Commissioner for Standards, Douglas Bain, attended an oral evidence session and was able to give significant technical advice, drawing on his experience from Northern Ireland as well as Wales. I would like to take this opportunity today to thank him on behalf of the committee for his assistance. In reviewing the procedure substantially for the first time since it was introduced, the committee has endeavoured to make it clearer and more accessible to the public. We have produced an explanatory guide in easily understood and accessible language to sit alongside the procedure. This takes the form of a key steps document and a flowchart, allowing members of the public to see how the procedure works at a glance. The committee has also produced more technical guidance on the operation and application of the procedure to help comprehension. This will be a living document that can be updated whenever new questions or issues arise. The process itself will also be more transparent for those involved, as the commissioner and the committee will contact the complainant and the Member who has been complained about at newly agreed milestones, to keep them informed. In order to ensure that recollection of events is still fresh and evidence readily available, the committee has set the timescale for admissibility of complaints at six months. However, I would like to provide reassurance that the commissioner will consider complaints relating to incidents outside of this timescale where there is good cause for delay. This ensures that the procedure is able to capture repeat offences, where behaviour has been taking place over a longer period of time. Further guidance on what is meant by good cause is included in the guidance. The committee has removed the appeals provision in the procedure by a majority decision. This was a decision that we considered very carefully, looking at the processes in other Parliaments and the experiences of the last Senedd, where the appeal mechanism was used for the first time. There are a number of stages within the process that allow for input and challenge and raising those concerns that were set out as the grounds for appeal, given that each complaint is dealt with by the commissioner and considered by the committee, with the final report being debated in Plenary. The Member who has been complained about has the right to attend the relevant committee meeting in person to make representations. We strengthened the oral hearing stage of the procedure, so that it is clearer that this is the opportunity for the Member to raise issues of factual dispute or procedural concern in relation to the commissioner's investigation and report. The committee is also able to refer matters raised at this point back to the commissioner for further consideration. The final major change is that the commissioner will now only share the facts established with the complainant and the Member complained of, and the committee will be responsible for sending the commissioner's report to the Member complained of and the complainant. The committee will also be required at this stage to set out the next steps in the process to all those involved, which we hope will increase understanding of the process and address some of the concerns that have been shared with us about the anxiety around not knowing what is happening during the complaints process. The other changes made by the committee to the procedure are outlined in our report. These changes add up to a document that is much clearer and easier to understand than the previous version, and also take into account experiences that the standards commissioner has had in his past roles, as well as useful evidence from other commissioners and relevant stakeholders. I would like to thank all of those who contributed to this inquiry for taking the time to provide us with valuable evidence, and ensure that we have been able to make the procedure fit for purpose. Members of the committee will be available to discuss any aspect of the revised procedure with Members at drop-in sessions next week. I look forward to answering any questions that Members have here now.
Welsh: Prynhawn da, a diolch, Ddirprwy Lywydd, am y cyfle i wneud y datganiad hwn heddiw. Mae'r pwyllgor heddiw wedi gosod gweithdrefn ddiwygiedig ar gyfer ymdrin â chwynion yn erbyn Aelodau o'r Senedd, ac adroddiad cysylltiedig. Daw'r weithdrefn i rym ar 18 Gorffennaf 2022. Fel gwleidyddion etholedig, mae gennym gyfrifoldeb i sicrhau ein bod yn gosod y safonau ymddygiad uchaf, ac fel Cadeirydd y Pwyllgor Safonau Ymddygiad, nid yw hynny byth yn bell o fy meddwl. Mae'r weithdrefn ar gyfer ymdrin â chwynion yn erbyn Aelodau o'r Senedd yn rheoleiddio'r broses ar gyfer gwneud, ymchwilio a phenderfynu ar gwynion yn erbyn Aelodau, ac mae'n offeryn allweddol wrth nodi disgwyliadau ar gyfer y ffordd y dylai Aelodau ymddwyn. Rwy'n falch, felly, o allu gwneud y datganiad hwn heddiw, gan amlinellu sut y mae'r pwyllgor wedi diweddaru a gwella'r weithdrefn i wneud iddi weithio'n fwy effeithiol i bawb. Yn ystod y pumed Senedd, cynhaliwyd adolygiad cynhwysfawr o'r cod ymddygiad ar gyfer Aelodau'r Senedd, a chymeradwywyd cod newydd i ddod i rym o ddechrau'r chweched Senedd. I ategu hyn, cytunodd y pwyllgor i ystyried y weithdrefn bresennol, ac i ystyried a oedd yn dal i fod yn addas i'r diben, fel ein gwaith cyntaf o sylwedd yn y chweched Senedd. Cyhoeddodd y pwyllgor weithdrefn ddrafft i ymgynghori arni rhwng 19 Ionawr a 21 Chwefror 2022, a chafodd 11 o ymatebion. Mynychodd Comisiynydd Safonau y Senedd, Douglas Bain, sesiwn dystiolaeth lafar a gallodd roi cyngor technegol sylweddol, gan dynnu ar ei brofiad o Ogledd Iwerddon yn ogystal â Chymru. Hoffwn achub ar y cyfle hwn heddiw i ddiolch iddo ar ran y pwyllgor am ei gymorth. Wrth adolygu'r weithdrefn yn sylweddol am y tro cyntaf ers ei chyflwyno, mae'r pwyllgor wedi ymdrechu i'w gwneud yn gliriach ac yn fwy hygyrch i'r cyhoedd. Rydym wedi cynhyrchu canllawiau esboniadol mewn iaith hawdd ei deall a hygyrch i gyd-fynd â'r weithdrefn. Mae hyn ar ffurf dogfen camau allweddol a siart lif, sy'n galluogi aelodau o'r cyhoedd i gael cipolwg ar sut y mae'r weithdrefn yn gweithio. Mae'r pwyllgor hefyd wedi cynhyrchu canllawiau mwy technegol ar weithrediad y weithdrefn i wella dealltwriaeth. Bydd hon yn ddogfen fyw y gellir ei diweddaru pryd bynnag y bydd cwestiynau neu faterion newydd yn codi. Bydd y broses ei hun hefyd yn fwy tryloyw i'r rhai sy'n ei dilyn, gan y bydd y comisiynydd a'r pwyllgor yn cysylltu â'r achwynydd a'r Aelod y cwynwyd amdanynt ar gerrig milltir y cytunwyd arnynt o'r newydd, i roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf iddynt. Er mwyn sicrhau bod digwyddiadau yn dal i fod yn ffres yn y meddwl a thystiolaeth ar gael yn rhwydd, mae'r pwyllgor wedi pennu amserlen o chwe mis ar gyfer gallu derbyn cwynion. Fodd bynnag, hoffwn roi sicrwydd y bydd y comisiynydd yn ystyried cwynion ynglŷn â digwyddiadau y tu hwnt i'r amserlen hon lle mae achos da dros oedi. Mae hyn yn sicrhau bod y weithdrefn yn gallu mynd i'r afael â chamweddau mynych, lle mae ymddygiad wedi bod yn digwydd dros gyfnod hwy o amser. Mae canllawiau pellach ar yr hyn a olygir wrth achos da wedi'u cynnwys yn y canllawiau. Mae'r pwyllgor wedi dileu'r ddarpariaeth apelio yn y weithdrefn drwy benderfyniad mwyafrifol. Roedd hwn yn benderfyniad y gwnaethom ei ystyried yn ofalus iawn, gan edrych ar y prosesau mewn Seneddau eraill a phrofiadau'r Senedd ddiwethaf, lle defnyddiwyd y mecanwaith apelio am y tro cyntaf. Ceir nifer o gamau yn y broses sy'n galluogi mewnbwn a her a chodi'r pryderon a nodwyd fel sail ar gyfer apelio, o ystyried bod pob cwyn yn cael sylw gan y comisiynydd ac yn cael ei hystyried gan y pwyllgor, gyda'r adroddiad terfynol yn cael ei drafod yn y Cyfarfod Llawn. Mae gan yr Aelod y gwnaed y gŵyn amdanynt hawl i fynychu'r cyfarfod pwyllgor perthnasol er mwyn gwneud sylwadau. Fe wnaethom gryfhau cam gwrandawiadau llafar y weithdrefn, fel ei bod yn gliriach mai dyma'r cyfle i'r Aelod godi anghytundeb ynghylch y ffeithiau neu bryderon gweithdrefnol mewn perthynas ag ymchwiliad ac adroddiad y comisiynydd. Gall y pwyllgor hefyd gyfeirio materion a godwyd ar yr adeg hon yn ôl at y comisiynydd i'w hystyried ymhellach. Y newid mawr olaf yw na fydd y comisiynydd bellach ond yn rhannu'r ffeithiau a sefydlwyd gyda'r achwynydd a'r Aelod y gwnaed y gŵyn amdanynt, a bydd y pwyllgor yn gyfrifol am anfon adroddiad y comisiynydd at yr Aelod y gwnaed y gŵyn amdanynt a'r achwynydd. Bydd hefyd yn ofynnol, ar y pwynt hwn, i'r pwyllgor nodi'r camau nesaf yn y broses i bawb sy'n gysylltiedig â'r mater, a gobeithiwn y bydd hynny'n cynyddu dealltwriaeth o'r broses ac yn mynd i'r afael â rhai o'r pryderon a rannwyd gyda ni ynghylch y gofid o beidio â gwybod beth sy'n digwydd yn ystod y broses gwyno. Mae'r newidiadau eraill a wnaed gan y pwyllgor i'r weithdrefn wedi'u hamlinellu yn ein hadroddiad. Mae'r newidiadau hyn, gyda'i gilydd, yn creu dogfen sy'n llawer cliriach a haws ei deall na'r fersiwn flaenorol, ac maent hefyd yn ystyried profiadau'r comisiynydd safonau yn ei rolau blaenorol, yn ogystal â thystiolaeth ddefnyddiol gan gomisiynwyr eraill a rhanddeiliaid perthnasol. Hoffwn ddiolch i bawb a gyfrannodd at yr ymchwiliad hwn am roi amser i ddarparu tystiolaeth werthfawr i ni, a sicrhau ein bod wedi gallu gwneud y weithdrefn yn addas i'r diben. Bydd aelodau'r pwyllgor ar gael i drafod unrhyw agwedd ar y weithdrefn ddiwygiedig gydag Aelodau mewn sesiynau galw heibio yr wythnos nesaf. Edrychaf ymlaen at ateb unrhyw gwestiynau sydd gan yr Aelodau yma yn awr.