Warning against “undemocratic” 10% recall threshold for Senedd Members

Published

2 years ago

June 4, 2024

A 10% THRESHOLD for voters to remove Senedd members from office between elections would be undemocratic, the standards commissioner warned.

Douglas Bain, who investigates complaints against Senedd members, gave evidence to a standards committee inquiry looking into introducing a system of recall.

He said: “I very much welcome anything that will strengthen the ability of the public to call to account members of the Senedd. I think that should always be welcome.”

But Mr Bain warned that the closed-list electoral system, which will see people voting for parties rather than candidates from 2026, poses major difficulties.

He said: “If a member was recalled, the public – the electorate – would not have a choice of who might be elected, with the automatic election of the next person on the party list.”

He told the committee it would be “quite wrong” to replace a member in this way, without a byelection, “because only 10% of the electorate have said that’s what they want to happen”.

Stressing it’s a personal view, and ultimately a matter for the Welsh Parliament to decide, Mr Bain said: “I wouldn’t regard that as democratic or acceptable.”

He added: “There has to be some sort of mechanism to ensure actually it’s the will of not just 10% of the people that the member should be replaced, but it’s the majority of the people.”

Peredur Owen Griffiths, a Plaid Cymru member of the committee, pointed out that an MS could be elected with 40% of the vote yet removed with 10%.

Mr Bain suggested giving the standards committee powers to recommend disqualification could work as an alternative but this could be viewed as MSs marking their own homework.

Asked whether proxy and postal votes should be allowed as part of a recall mechanism, Mr Bain said the extra verification steps would unduly complicate the process.

Vikki Howells asked about Westminster’s criteria for triggering a recall petition: a prison sentence of less than 12 months, a ten-day suspension, or an expenses conviction.

Mr Bain, who was appointed in 2021, told the committee chair it is a good starting point.

The standards commissioner said there could be an argument for reducing the 12-month sentence threshold, above which members are automatically disqualified.

He asked: “Is it acceptable that someone who’s been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment … to remain a member of the Senedd? I think many would think the answer is ‘no’.”

Asked if members should be able to appeal, Mr Bain said in his experience of the complaints process, introducing an appeals mechanism risks prolonging the agony for everyone.

He recommended following Westminster’s model as closely as possible, adapting it for Wales as necessary: “Why try to reinvent a wheel that seems to work reasonably well?”

Mr Bain previously served as acting commissioner following Sir Roderick Evans’ resignation in 2019 after he was secretly recorded by Neil McEvoy, the former Plaid Cymru MS.

The commissioner, who is based in Northern Ireland, said a vote of the whole Senedd and a weighted majority should be required due to the serious nature of the recall decision.

“Otherwise it could be used by a party that had a greater number of seats in the Senedd simply to remove opposition, which would be wholly unacceptable,” he warned.

But Joe Rossiter, co-director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs, suggested a vote of the whole Senedd is unnecessary and risks politicisation, with members voting in party blocks.

Mr Rossiter, who joined the independent think tank and charity in 2022, described the members and elections bill as a missed opportunity to include a recall mechanism.

He told the meeting on June 3: “The public have a right to expect high standards from elected officials who are having an increasing impact on everyday life in Wales.”

Ms Howells asked whether politicians should be recalled for changing their allegiance, saying voters are often vexed and lack representation when an MS joins another party.

Mark Drakeford suggested members should be allowed to leave a political group but then only be able to sit as an independent for the rest of that Senedd term.

“They wouldn’t be able to hawk themselves around to different political groups,” he said.

The ex-first minister suggested it is unlikely the main parties will exhaust their 12-candidate lists for constituencies, saying: “You’d have to have a very, very substantial run of bad luck.”

Mr Drakeford said any independent MS would effectively be on a list of one but he argued it would be preferable for the seat to sit vacant rather than hold a by-election.

He told the meeting the unintended consequences of holding by-elections under the new fully proportional system outweigh the problems arising from a vacant seat.

Natasha Asghar, for the Conservatives, asked whether Wales should introduce a public body, similar to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) in Westminster.

Mr Rossiter said an Ipsa-style approach could raise standards throughout the Senedd as an institution, not only among individual members, but it would require more investment.

Call to expand nature retreat with more lodges, a sauna and padel courts

Published

10 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to extend a Pembrokeshire “boutique nature retreat destination” previously featured in the Sunday Times with further holiday cabins, a mobile sauna and padel courts has been lodged with county planners.

In an application submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council, Paul Cleaver of Wilder Retreats, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, seeks permission for two holiday cabins, a mobile sauna and the conversion and extension of an existing building to padel courts and changing rooms to form phase 2 of the existing Wilder Retreats holiday cabins and complex, on land at the former agricultural/ forestry works depot, Solbury Road, Tiers Cross.

Padel is a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash.

A supporting statement said of Wilder Retreats, an ecotourism destination located on 20 acres of rewilded land: “Since opening, the business has established itself as one of Wales’ leading boutique nature retreat destinations — demonstrating how sensitive, high-quality tourism development can work in harmony with landscape, ecology and local economy.

“The business has attracted national press coverage from publications including the Sunday Times and Coast Magazine.”

It said the existing business “was conceived from the outset as an ecotourism model — one that funds and enables genuine environmental restoration through sustainable commercial activity, working towards ecological targets set by Kite Ecology including native woodland planting, wildflower meadow creation and habitat corridor development”.

The Phase 2 developments proposed are: two additional A-frame cabins in addition to the existing six; Wilder Woodland Sauna, a commercial woodland sauna; and Wilder Padel Club, two covered LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) compliant padel courts with associated clubhouse facilities, that re-uses a redundant shed and yard in the client’s ownership.

The two additional A-frame cabins will be operated by Wilder Retreats Ltd as an extension of the existing accommodation business. Wilder Woodland Sauna and Wilder Padel Club will each operate as independent businesses under separate limited companies.

“Together, the three proposals reinforce one another: the cabins bring more guests to the site; the sauna and padel give those guests — and local residents — more reasons to visit and to stay longer,” the statement says, adding: “All three operate independently but collectively strengthen the economic, social and environmental case for this site as a model of sustainable rural tourism.”

The site was previously lawfully occupied by the applicant’s tree works consultancy and land management business until this subsequently relocated a few years ago.

Although the site has since been occupied by a motorcycle business, that business has been given notice to vacate but will trade until early 2027.

The application proposal is supported by a letter from Tennis Wales, the national governing body for Padel, one of the fastest growing sports in the country, which fully supports the principle of creating two padel courts, saying: “Creating more Padel courts, which can be used throughout the year, is critical to sustaining this growth.

“These new facilities will enable more adults and juniors to enjoy, compete and experience the game of Padel in line with Tennis Wales Vision and Mission which is to see ‘Padel opened up’.”

The application will be considered by county planners at a later date.

Crime

UK grooming gang inquiry failing to look at Wales, Senedd told

Published

15 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Ella Groves, ICNN Senedd Reporter

AN INDEPENDENT inquiry into grooming gangs across England and Wales has failed to identify a single location in Wales for local investigation, the Senedd has been told.

Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar raised the issue in the Siambr on Wednesday July 8, warning that known victims of child sexual exploitation in Wales are being overlooked.

Mr Millar said independent investigations had already cited Swansea, Rhyl and parts of mid Wales as areas where grooming gangs operate, with victims being trafficked to other parts of the UK.

Addressing Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams, Mr Millar asked for assurances that she would commit to a standalone, Wales-wide inquiry if the current cross-border investigation continues to bypass Welsh locations.

Ms Williams, who also serves as social justice and equality minister, said the Welsh Government had consulted on the terms of reference to ensure the “unique Welsh context” is captured.

Sioned Williams, Deputy First Minister and minister for social justice and equality

She confirmed that Welsh officials meet monthly with the inquiry team and have been assured that Welsh survivors will be able to contribute fully.

Ms Williams added that her government would take further action if it believes it is required.

The debate followed figures highlighted in the Senedd by Plaid Cymru’s Beca Brown on Wednesday July 2, showing an estimated 25,000 children and young people are sexually abused in Wales every year.

Labour’s spokesperson for equalities, Shav Taj, called for ring-fenced funding to train teachers to identify sophisticated online AI deepfake networks and “sextortion” rings.

Labour’s spokesperson for employment, equalities, and economic transformation, Shav Taj

Ms Taj warned that relying on a central website without specific funding was a “passive strategy” for exhausted school staff.

Ms Williams said the government’s ten-year strategy focuses on prevention, effective protection, and supporting affected families alongside the NSPCC and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.

Politics

‘Expert group’ set up as government presses ahead with child payment plans

Published

15 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Ella Groves, ICNN Senedd Reporter

AN “EXPERT GROUP” has been set up as the Welsh Government looks to pilot its proposed child payment.

Wales’ Deputy First Minister faced questions on Cynnal – a Plaid Cymru manifesto pledge to deliver a £10 payment to to low income households.

Sioned Williams said the group will support the “design, delivery, monitoring, and evaluation of the Cynnal pilot” – which could benefit up to 15,000 children aged six and below.

Answering a question from Plaid Cymru colleague Elyn Stephens, Ms Williams the group brings together “expertise from across the sector” to ensure the scheme is “evidence-led, is robustly evaluated, and is grounded in the realities of families’ lives.”

Drawing on experiences from her own constituency of Afan Ogwr Rhondda, Ms Stephens noted the “real difference” the Cynnal payment could make to families facing the “sharpest end of child poverty”.

However, she said potential recipients need clarity that the support will reach them directly.

She said: “We know there are clear precedents for additional payments being disregarded within the benefits system, including the Scottish child payment and local welfare provision.

“But the Welsh NHS and social care bonus show that without Department for Work and Pensions protection, the value of a government payment can be reduced through the Universal Credit system as it’s then classed as earnings.”

Ms Stephens said the Cynnal payment needs to be “simple to access and protected in full”.

Ms Williams confirmed negotiations have begun with the UK Government to look at the links between benefits, taxation, and the Cynnal payment.

She said: “I’ve already started discussing this with Andrew Western MP, the minister for transformation, and further meetings are in the diary.”

Reform’s Gareth Thomas asked Ms Williams how many families in his constituency of Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg are expected to benefit from the payment, and whether his area will be included in the original rollout.

He also pushed for the Welsh Government to publish local figures so MSs can assess “whether Cynnal is delivering real benefits for families and value for public money”.

In response, Ms Williams said: “The task of the expert group will be to ensure that we plan this payment carefully. It is a pilot programme, so it won’t reach every family in need in Wales, because that’s the nature of a pilot, clearly.”

She continued: “We need to think how we can assess how this child payment can support families in the best way possible, and then build those strong foundations of robust evidence in order to steer future decisions.”

Labour’s Jane Bryant emphasised the importance of working with both the UK Government and local authorities in Wales on the scheme’s rollout.

Casnewydd Islwyn's Labour MS Jayne Bryant — Casnewydd Islwyn’s Labour MS Jayne Bryant

She asked when the child payments will start, and urged the minister to ensure it will not affect families’ eligibility for other financial support.

On the involvement of local authorities, Ms Williams said: “We know we have key partners in this work as regards delivery and interaction with other Welsh benefits.

“So that is, again, what will be completely under the consideration of the expert steering group which will be meeting next week.”