PART III continued
(1) The standing orders must include provision specifying the circumstances in which Assembly members who are not members of a subject committee, or of a sub-committee of such a committee, may attend and make representations at proceedings of the committee or sub-committee.
(2) The standing orders must include provision for any documents in the possession or under the control of the Assembly which contain material relating to any proceedings of the Assembly (including proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or of a sub-committee of such a committee) which have taken place, or are to take place, to be open to inspection by any Assembly member except where the standing orders otherwise provide.
(1) The standing orders must include provision for a register of interests of Assembly members and for—
(a) registrable interests (as defined in the standing orders) to be registered in it, and
(b) the publication of the register.
(2) The standing orders must include provision for requiring any Assembly member who has—
(a) a financial interest (as defined in the standing orders) in any matter, or
(b) any other interest, or an interest of any other kind, specified in the standing orders in any matter,
to declare that interest before taking part in any proceedings of the Assembly (including proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or of a sub-committee of such a committee) relating to that matter.
(3) The standing orders may include provision—
(a) for preventing or restricting the participation in any proceedings of the Assembly (including proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or of a sub-committee of such a committee) of an Assembly member if he has a registrable interest, or an interest mentioned in subsection (2), in any matter to which the proceedings relate, and
(b) for preventing or restricting the exercise of a function by a member of the executive committee, or the exercise of a function by an Assembly member by virtue of section 59(6), if he has a registrable interest, or an interest mentioned in subsection (2), in any matter to which the function relates.
(4) The standing orders must include provision prohibiting an Assembly member—
(a) from 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) from urging, in consideration of any such payment or benefit in kind, another Assembly member to advocate or initiate any cause or matter on behalf of any person by any such means.
(5) The standing orders may include provision—
(a) for excluding from proceedings of the Assembly (including proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or of a sub-committee of such a committee) an Assembly member who fails to comply with or contravenes any provision included in the standing orders in pursuance of subsections (1) to (4), and
(b) for withdrawing his rights and privileges as an Assembly member for the period of his exclusion.
(6) An Assembly member who—
(a) takes part in any proceedings of the Assembly (including proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or of a sub-committee of such a committee) without having complied with, or in contravention of, any provision included in the standing orders in pursuance of subsection (1), (2) or (3)(a),
(b) exercises any function in contravention of any provision included in the standing orders in pursuance of subsection (3)(b), or
(c) contravenes any provision included in the standing orders in pursuance of subsection (4),
is guilty of an offence.
(7) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (6) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(8) A prosecution for an offence under subsection (6) shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
(1) Where the Assembly remakes the standing orders, it shall publish them.
(2) Where the Assembly revises standing orders (without remaking them as a whole), it shall publish either the revisions or the standing orders as revised (as it considers appropriate).
(1) The Assembly may require any person to whom subsection (2) applies—
(a) to attend proceedings of the Assembly for the purpose of giving evidence, or
(b) to produce to the Assembly documents in his possession or under his control.
(2) This subsection applies to—
(a) any person who is a member, or a member of the staff, of a body specified in Schedule 5, and
(b) any person who holds, or is a member of the staff of a person who holds, an office so specified.
(3) A requirement imposed on a person under subsection (1)—
(a) if imposed under paragraph (a) of that subsection, is to attend to give evidence in connection with the affairs of the body or office in question so far as relating to Wales, and
(b) if imposed under paragraph (b) of that subsection, is to produce documents which relate to those affairs.
(4) The powers conferred by subsection (1) may be exercised by and for the purposes of the Audit Committee.
(5) Those powers may be exercised by and for the purposes of—
(a) any other committee of the Assembly, apart from the executive committee, or
(b) any sub-committee of any such committee, apart from a sub-committee of the executive committee,
if the committee or sub-committee is expressly authorised to exercise those powers by the standing orders (but may not be exercised by any individual Assembly member or by any member of the Assembly’s staff).
(6) In order to impose a requirement on a person under subsection (1) the presiding officer or deputy presiding officer must give him notice in writing specifying the body or office in question and—
(a) the time and place at which he is to attend, or
(b) the documents, or types of documents, which he is to produce and the date by which he is to produce them.
(7) A notice required by subsection (6) to be given to a person must be given at least two weeks before the day on which the proceedings are to take place, or by which the documents are to be produced, unless he waives that requirement.
(8) If a notice required by subsection (6) to be given to a person is sent to him, by registered post or the recorded delivery service, addressed to his usual or last known address or, where he has given an address for service of the notice, to that address, it shall be taken to be given to him.
(1) Where a requirement has been imposed on a person under section 74(1) to attend proceedings—
(a) the presiding officer or deputy presiding officer, or the Assembly member who chairs the committee or sub-committee concerned, or
(b) such other person as may be authorised by the standing orders,
may require him to take an oath (or make an affirmation) before he gives evidence at the proceedings and may administer the oath (or affirmation) to him.
(2) A person to whom a notice under section 74(6) has been given is guilty of an offence if he—
(a) refuses or fails, without reasonable excuse, to attend proceedings as required by the notice,
(b) refuses to take an oath (or make an affirmation) when required to do so in accordance with subsection (1),
(c) refuses to answer any question which is properly put to him when attending any proceedings as required by the notice,
(d) refuses or fails, without reasonable excuse, to produce any document required by the notice to be produced by him, or
(e) intentionally alters, suppresses, conceals or destroys any document required by the notice to be produced by him.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) is liable on summary conviction to—
(a) a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or
(b) imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months.
(4) A person is not obliged by section 74 to answer any question or produce any document which he would be entitled to refuse to answer or produce in or for the purposes of proceedings in a court in England and Wales; and subsection (2) has effect accordingly.
(5) The Secretary of State may by order amend Schedule 5 by—
(a) adding or omitting any body or office, or
(b) altering the description of any body or office.
(6) For the purposes of section 74 and this section—
(a) a person shall be taken to comply with a requirement to produce a document if he produces a copy of, or an extract of the relevant part of, the document, and
(b) “document” means anything in which information is recorded in any form (and references to producing a document are to the production of the information recorded in it in a visible and legible form).
(1) The Secretary of State for Wales shall be entitled to attend and participate in any proceedings of the Assembly.
(2) Subsection (1) does not confer on the Secretary of State for Wales—
(a) any right to vote, or
(b) a right to attend or participate in the proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or any sub-committee of such a committee.
(3) The standing orders must include provision for any documents which—
(a) contain material relating to any proceedings of the Assembly itself which have taken place or are to take place, and
(b) are made available to all Assembly members,
to be made available to the Secretary of State for Wales no later than the time when they are made available to Assembly members who are not members of the executive committee.
(1) For the purposes of the law of defamation—
(a) any statement made in, for the purposes of or for purposes incidental to proceedings of the Assembly (including proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or of a sub-committee of such a committee), and
(b) the publication by or under the authority of the Assembly of a report of such proceedings,
is absolutely privileged.
(2) Subsection (1)(a) applies, in particular, to any statement made in—
(a) evidence given before the Assembly, a committee of the Assembly or a sub-committee of such a committee,
(b) a document laid before the Assembly or such a committee or sub-committee,
(c) a document prepared for the purposes of, or for purposes incidental to, the transaction of business by the Assembly or such a committee or sub-committee,
(d) a document (other than a report to which subsection (1)(b) applies) formulated, made or published by or under the authority of the Assembly or such a committee or sub-committee,
(e) any communication—
(i) between any person and a person having functions in connection with the registration of interests of Assembly members, or
(ii) between any person and an Assembly member,
in connection with such registration, or
(f) any communication—
(i) between any person and a person having functions in connection with the investigation of complaints about actions or failures on the part of the Assembly, or
(ii) between any person and an Assembly member,
in connection with any such complaint.
(3) In subsections (1) and (2) “statement” has the same meaning as in the [1996 c. 31.] Defamation Act 1996.
(4) The Assembly—
(a) is a legislature for the purposes of Schedule 1 to that Act (qualified privilege for fair and accurate report of public proceedings of legislatures etc.), and
(b) shall be treated as if it were a Minister of the Crown for the purposes of paragraph 11(1)(c) of that Schedule (report of proceedings of person appointed by a Minister etc. for the purposes of an inquiry).
(5) Section 10 of the [1952 c. 66.] Defamation Act 1952 and section 10 of the [1955 c. 11 (N.I.).] Defamation Act Northern Ireland) 1955 (limitation on privilege at elections) have effect in relation to elections of Assembly members as to elections to Parliament.
(1) The strict liability rule shall not apply in relation to any publication—
(a) made in, for the purposes of or for purposes incidental to proceedings of the Assembly (including proceedings of a committee of the Assembly or of a sub-committee of such a committee), or
(b) to the extent that it consists of a report of such proceedings which either is made by or under the authority of the Assembly or is fair and accurate and made in good faith.
(2) Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) applies, in particular, to any publication made in any evidence, document or communication such as is specified in section 77(2)(a) to (f); and in that subsection “the strict liability rule” and “publication” have the same meanings as in the [1981 c. 49.] Contempt of Court Act 1981.
The Assembly is a public body for the purposes of the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 to 1916.