Meeting of the Parliament 26 February 2025
I am delighted to speak to the motion inviting members of the Parliament to agree to the appointment of Malcolm Bell as a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland.
As members might know, the Standards Commission is part of the ethical standards framework, and its role is to encourage high ethical standards in public life by promoting and enforcing the codes of conduct for councillors and members of devolved public bodies. The commission issues guidance to councils and public bodies and adjudicates on alleged contraventions of the codes that are referred to it by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland.
As members of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, Jackson Carlaw, Christine Grahame and I sat as a recruitment panel on 13 January 2025. The panel’s unanimous decision was to recommend Malcolm Bell to the Parliament for appointment as a member of the Standards Commission for Scotland.
Malcolm Bell, who is in the public gallery this afternoon, brings a wealth of public sector experience, having served as a senior police officer and having been an elected councillor in and convener of Shetland Islands Council. He has also held a number of public appointments, including as vice-chair of NHS Shetland. Mr Bell is a member of the Accounts Commission for Scotland and an honorary sheriff, and was recently appointed as a justice of the peace. I am confident that he will be an asset to the commission.