Motion on the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme
Later today the House will debate the Motion on the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.
When we established the Independent Complaints and Grievance procedure two years ago, the cross party team that worked on the committee sought to uphold two key principles:
That confidentiality for the victim must be at the heart of any successful complaints procedure
The democratic convention whereby elected Members of Parliament should not be removed by unelected institutions
My amendment addresses the two red lines:
First, to protect confidentiality of victims; it seeks to rule out any debate in the Chamber which, notwithstanding the constraints the Leader has put on it, could result in a complainant feeling re-victimised during the debate, and will therefore inevitably undermine confidence in the complaints procedure itself - the staff and Trade Union Side representatives have already clearly publicised their concerns.
Second, to preserve the key democratic principle that an elected person should not be removed from office by an unelected person. To ensure the democratic convention is adhered to, instead of debate in the Chamber, there would be a constrained debate - on process, not the case itself - in the Committee on Standards. This should happen within five sitting days of the Independent Expert Panel’s findings. The final recommendation, which cannot go against the findings of the IEP, can be for expulsion or suspension up to and including invoking the Recall Act. This will then be put to the House for a vote without any debate.
