Government of Wales Act 2006

36 Integrity

(1) The standing orders must include provision—

(a) for a register of interests of Assembly members, and

(b) for the register to be published and made available for public inspection.

(2) The standing orders must require Assembly members to register in the register of interests registrable interests, as defined for the purposes of this subsection.

(3) The standing orders must require any Assembly member who has—

(a) a financial interest, as defined for the purposes of this subsection, or

(b) any other interest, or an interest of any other kind, as so defined,

in any matter to declare that interest before taking part in Assembly proceedings relating to that matter.

(4) The standing orders may include provision for preventing or restricting the participation in any Assembly proceedings of an Assembly member who has an interest within subsection (2) or (3) in any matter to which the proceedings relate.

(5) The standing orders must include provision prohibiting an Assembly member from—

(a) advocating or initiating any cause or matter on behalf of any person, by any means specified in the standing orders, in consideration of any payment or benefit in kind of a description so specified, or

(b) urging, in consideration of any such payment or benefit in kind, any other Assembly member to advocate or initiate any cause or matter on behalf of any person by any such means.

(6) The standing orders must include provision about (or for the making of a code or protocol about) the different roles and responsibilities of Assembly constituency members and Assembly regional members; and—

(a) Assembly constituency members must not describe themselves in a manner which suggests that they are Assembly regional members, and

(b) Assembly regional members must not describe themselves in a manner which suggests that they are Assembly constituency members.

(7) An Assembly member who—

(a) takes part in Assembly proceedings without having complied with, or in contravention of, any provision included in the standing orders in pursuance of subsections (2) to (4), or

(b) contravenes any provision included in the standing orders in pursuance of subsection (5),

commits an offence.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (7) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(9) A prosecution for an offence under subsection (7) cannot be instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(10) The validity of any Assembly proceedings is not affected by any contravention or failure to comply with any provision included in the standing orders in pursuance of this section.

(11) In this section—

(a) references to an Assembly member (apart from those in subsection (6)) include the Counsel General, if not an Assembly member, and

(b) “financial interest” includes a benefit in kind.