Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 04 March 2021
Last September, the Parliament agreed to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s proposal for a committee bill that would allow the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland to investigate complaints of past sexual harassment made about members of the Parliament in respect of behaviour towards members of their own staff. The bill and its accompanying documents were introduced last November, and I am delighted to be able to speak to the chamber today and to invite the Parliament to agree to pass the bill.
The bill also removes a default time limit for making complaints to the commissioner, and removes any requirement for the complainer’s signature. The bill, though important, is fairly narrow in scope. If passed, it will open up a complaint route for a member’s own staff, including any staff who are employed jointly by that member with other members under a pooling arrangement, in cases of alleged sexual harassment by that MSP. It does not retrospectively apply a new substantive standard of conduct—it has never been acceptable or lawful for MSPs to sexually harass their employees.
The bill is the result of work that was initiated by the Parliament in 2017 to address sexual harassment, after press reports that there were issues that required to be addressed in public institutions. Since then, a series of changes have been made to the “Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament”, with the aim of ensuring that MSPs, MSP staff and parliamentary staff who experience sexual harassment can be assured that their complaint will be investigated independently and in confidence.
A joint working group on sexual harassment was established by the Parliament in February 2018. It was made up of representatives from all parties, as well as senior members of parliamentary staff and a representative from Engender. The joint working group reported in December 2018 and made a series of recommendations. Following a consultation on those recommendations, the report was referred by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to my committee to implement the recommendations relating to the standards regime in the Parliament.
The committee considered the joint working group’s recommendations before consulting all MSPs on proposed revisions to the code of conduct to implement two of the working group’s key recommendations: that no time limit should be applied to complaints of sexual harassment; and that members should be held to account for their behaviour towards their own staff in the same way as for their behaviour towards anyone else working in the building. The joint working group also wished to see consistency of approach in all investigations of allegations of sexual harassment by MSPs.
Following its consultation, the committee recommended—and the Parliament agreed—a number of changes to the code of conduct. Those made it possible for the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland to investigate complaints about an MSP’s conduct towards parliamentary staff or the staff of other members. Such complaints had previously been termed “excluded complaints” and were subject to different procedures. Only if those procedures failed to reach a resolution, could they then be referred to the Commissioner.
The changes to the code of conduct also brought members’ treatment of their own staff within the code for the first time. That provision, agreed by the Parliament, prohibits MSPs from behaving in a manner towards their own staff that includes bullying; harassment, including sexual harassment; and any other inappropriate behaviour. Although clearly never acceptable or lawful, sexual misconduct by an MSP toward his or her own staff was explicitly prohibited by the code of conduct from that moment forward. However, the bill is needed so that complaints can be made about historical conduct by MSPs, including former MSPs, towards their staff.
The bill is necessary because the legislation governing the remit of the Standards Commissioner allows her to investigate only breaches of a “relevant provision” of the code of conduct, standing orders or legislation relating to members’ interests in place at the time of the alleged misconduct. The joint working group also specifically recommended the removal of an extra barrier to the bringing forward of complaints that are made more than a year after the complainer becomes aware of the misconduct. The committee believes that that measure should be applied to complaints of any breaches, not just those relating to sexual harassment, so that all complaints are on an equal footing.
The bill removes some of the barriers to complaining about sexual misconduct by MSPs and places potential complainers on a more equal footing if they decide to take that step. I was encouraged by the cross-party support that the bill enjoyed in previous debates, and I hope that I can rely on members’ support for it at decision time.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees that the Scottish Parliamentary Standards (Sexual Harassment and Complaints Process) Bill be passed.