About Us
The Standards Commission is an independent body whose purpose is to encourage high ethical standards in public life through the promotion and enforcement of Codes of Conduct for councillors and those appointed to the boards of devolved public bodies.
News and Blog
Appeal Judgement
18th July 2019
The Standards Commission is pleased to note the terms of a judgement by the Sheriff Principal of Tayside, Central and Fife in respect of an appeal lodged against a decision of one of its Hearing Panels. The Sheriff Principal refused the appeal in entirety and made no criticisms of the Panel’s decision or reasoning in respect of both breach and sanction. The Sheriff Principal was satisfied that the Panel had applied Article 10 of the ECHR correctly and that it had “carr...
Standards Update July 2019
4th July 2019
Our latest Standards Update can be found here.
Ethical Standards Act Section 19(6) Policy
10th May 2019
Section 19(6) of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 provides that the Standards Commission may, on imposing a suspension on a member of a devolved public body, direct that any remuneration or allowance deriving from membership of the body that would be payable to the member, not be paid or be reduced. A policy outlining the factors that a Hearing Panel of the Standards Commission will consider when deciding whether or not to make a direction under Section 19(6...
Standards Update March 2019
28th March 2019
Our latest Standards Update can be found here.
Hearings Flowchart
5th March 2019
A new flowchart showing, on a step by step basis, the procedures that are followed at our public Hearings can be found here.
New Standards Commission Member appointed
4th March 2019
We are pleased to announce that the Scottish Parliament approved the appointment of a new member of the Standards Commission, Ashleigh Dunn, who commenced in post on 4 March 2019. Ashleigh is an experienced Executive Director in public services and charity Trustee, specialising in organisational and leadership development. She is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and a Chartered Fellow CIPD. Ashleigh has over 20 years’ experience in NHS management, across the UK, h...
Further Analysis of Responses to Survey of Members of Devolved Public Bodies
14th February 2019
The Standards Commission has further analysed the nearly 300 responses it received to the survey it issued to members of devolved public bodies, including national, regional, NHS boards, Health & Social Care IJBs, further education colleges and regional transport partnerships. The Standards Commission has outlined its findings in a report that can be found here. While there a...
Assisting Constituents Card
13th February 2019
We have produced a card outlining what elected members can and cannot do for their constituents. The idea is for members to be able to hand the card out at surgeries, to help them manage their constituents’ expectations and to raise awareness that agreeing to take certain actions could lead them to be in breach of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. The card can be found
Change of Venue - Regional Roadshow
15th January 2019
Due to circumstances out with our control we have had to change the venue for our Regional Training Event on Monday, 18 February 2019. The event will now take place in Airdrie Town Hall, Stirling Street, Airdrie, ML6 0AS. The Town Hall is a 4-minute walk from Airdrie train station. Parking should be available in the public car park which is shared with the adjacent swimming pool (pool opens at 12 noon). We apologise for any inconvenience this may caus...
Standards Update December 2018
20th December 2018
Our latest Standards Update (previously known as 'professional briefings') can be found here.
