On behalf of the committee, I would like to make the following statement in relation to a complaint against an MSP. In accordance with the rules, I will first cover whether the committee agrees with the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland’s findings in fact and conclusions on the complaint, and then move on to cover the committee’s decision on sanctions.
The committee has considered a complaint from Connor McElwaine about Roseanna Cunningham MSP. The complaint is that Roseanna Cunningham failed to register in her register of interests within 30 days of acquiring them shares with a value of more than 1 per cent of the share capital of a company. The Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life investigated the complaint and found that Roseanna Cunningham had failed to register and that that being the case she was in breach of the relevant provisions of the Interests of Members of the Scottish Parliament Act 2006 and the “Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament”.
The committee is unanimous on the decisions that have been reached on the complaint. First, the committee agrees with the findings in fact and the conclusion of the commissioner. Secondly, the committee does not consider that the breach in question justifies any sanctions being imposed on Roseanna Cunningham. In reaching the decision on sanctions, the committee was mindful of the purpose of the register of interests, of the fact that the breach was clearly an oversight with no intention of avoiding registering, and of the decisions of predecessor committees in similar circumstances.
The code of conduct explains that
“information about certain financial interests of members must be registered. The types of financial interest which must be registered are those which might be thought to influence a member’s actions, speeches or votes in the Parliament.”
The register is therefore intended to capture significant financial interests that are of interest to the public in order to maintain transparency and accountability. The cost of the shares that are held by Roseanna Cunningham was £50 at the time when she acquired them, and they appear not to have increased in value or to be likely to. The committee questions whether shares of such value, or potential value, could reasonably be considered to influence a member’s actions. The committee also notes that as soon as Roseanna Cunningham became aware of her failure to register, she immediately registered the shares, then took steps to dispose of them.
The committee wishes to make it clear that it takes all breaches of the 2006 act and the code of conduct seriously. The register of interests plays an important role in ensuring transparency and accountability; it is in place so that details of members’ significant financial interests are publicly available, thereby providing sufficient information to members of the public who seek to scrutinise the behaviour of members.
Although we do not consider that any sanctions are justified in this case, we remind every member of the importance of maintaining the Parliament’s high standard of compliance with all the requirements of the 2006 act and the code of conduct, including the register of interests. It is the responsibility of every member to understand and meet those requirements, and the committee emphasises that to Roseanna Cunningham and all other members of the Parliament.
Full details of the complaint and the commissioner’s investigation will be included in the committee’s report, which we expect to be published later this afternoon. Thank you.
10:01 Meeting continued in private until 10:03.