National Assembly for Wales Commissioner for Standards Measure 2009

General

19 Annual report

(1) The Commissioner must, as soon as possible after the end of each financial year, lay before the Assembly an annual report on the performance of the functions of the Commissioner throughout that year.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) the report must contain a concise statement of information relating to the financial affairs and transactions of the Commissioner in the performance of those functions during that year.

(3) The Commissioner must comply with any requirement imposed by the Assembly as to the form of the annual report and as to any specific information or class of information which it must contain.

(4) The Commissioner must, subject to subsection (5), comply with any requirement imposed by the Committee on Standards of Conduct—

(a) to attend before that committee,

(b) to provide the committee which such information as it may reasonably require in relation to any matter contained in a report which has been laid before the Assembly under subsection (1) or which was required to be contained in such a report.

(5) The Commissioner need not comply with a requirement under subsection (4)—

(a) if it is not reasonably practicable to do so, and

(b) except in the case of a requirement under subsection (4)(b) which is made orally to the Commissioner at a meeting of the committee, unless the requirement is in writing.

20 Interpretation

(1) In this Measure—

• “the Act” (“y Ddeddf”) means the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32);

• “Assembly Member” (“Aelod Cynulliad”) includes—

  (a)

  for the purposes of section 1(3)(a) and (b) only, the Counsel General even where that officer is not an Assembly Member, and

  (b)

  except for the purposes of section 1(3)(a) and (b), a former Assembly Member,

• “the Clerk” (“y Clerc”) means the Clerk of the Assembly,

• “the Commission” (“y Comisiwn”) means the National Assembly for Wales Commission,

• “Counsel General” (“Cwnsler Cyffredinol”) means the Counsel General to the Welsh Assembly Government,

• “the Committee on Standards of Conduct” (“y Pwyllgor Safonau Ymddygiad”) means any committee or subcommittee of the Assembly to which there have been delegated, by or under the Standing Orders, functions relating to complaints that Assembly Members have failed to comply with the requirements of a relevant provision, and

• “Standing Orders” (“Rheolau Sefydlog”) means the Standing Orders of the Assembly.

(2) Any reference in this Measure to “the Assembly” is a reference to—

(a) the National Assembly for Wales, or

(b) other than in sections 1, 4, 6(3)(b), (c) and (d) and the Schedule, the Committee on Standards of Conduct.

21 Short title and commencement

(1) This Measure may be referred to as the National Assembly for Wales Commissioner for Standards Measure 2009.

(2) This Measure comes into force as follows—

(a) this section and sections 1, 3 (including the Schedule) and 20 come into force on the day after that on which this Measure is approved by Her Majesty in Council, and

(b) the remaining provisions of this Measure come into force on the day after that on which notice under subsection (3) is published.

(3) The Clerk must, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the first appointment of a Commissioner under this Measure takes effect, cause to be published, in at least one newspaper circulating in Wales, notice of—

(a) the fact that the appointment in question has taken effect, and

(b) the fact that by reason of the publication of the notice all provisions of this Measure (other than those already in force) will come into force on the day after the day on which it is published.