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
Consultation on Proposed Amendments to Ethical Standards Legislation
4th July 2024
The Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act, which introduced the ethical standards framework and Codes of Conduct for councillors and members of devolved public bodies in Scotland, was one of the first laws passed by the Scottish Parliament. In advance of the 25th anniversary of its enactment, the Standards Commission and the Ethical Standards Commissioner (ESC) have conducted a joint review of its provisions and have identified some amendments that could be made to improve or st...
Members of the Standards Commission
4th July 2024
MEMBERS OF THE STANDARDS COMMISSION The Standards Commission is responsible for ensuring councillors and board members of devolved public bodies meet the high standards of behaviour that the public is entitled to expect. It takes a proactive approach by promoting high ethical standards and raising awareness of the key principles of public life. It does so by issuing Guidance, Advice Notes and Standards Updates, by facilitating training events, and by answering queries...
Working with Our Community Kitchen Garden
27th June 2024
The Standards Commission has signed up to a Social Impact Pledge, aimed at increasing the social impact of public sector organisations in Scotland. As part of its pledge, Standards Commission staff give back to the community by spending a day working for a charity. On 25 June 2024, staff spent the day working for Our Community Kitchen, in their garden in Haddington. Our Community Kitchen provides relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or ot...
Standards Update June 2024
27th June 2024
Our latest Standards Update is now available.
Letters to Political Parties
26th June 2024
The Standards Commission and the Ethical Standards Commissioner (ESC) have sent a joint letter to all political parties in Scotland, in advance of the General Election on 4 July 2024, inviting them to help to promote the Councillors’ Code and encourage awareness of its provisions and, in particular, the ones that require councillors to treat each other with courtesy and respect and to refrain at all times from engaging in conduct that would constitute bullying and/or harassment. ...
Appeal to the Sheriff Principal
11th June 2024
Following a Hearing on 17 January 2024, Councillor M. Tauqeer Malik, an elected member of Aberdeen City Council, was found by the Standards Commission on 23 January 2024 to have breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. Cllr Malik was quoted in Aberdeen Live on 14 October 2022 as stating the Convener of the Council’s Pension Committee, had “shown his prejudice” in refusing to sign Cllr Malik’s nomination to the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum. The Standards C...
New Commission Member
5th June 2024
The Standards Commission is delighted to welcome a new member, Morag Ferguson. A solicitor for more than 30 years, Ms Ferguson has worked mostly in the public sector in both the NHS Central Legal Office and a number of local authorities. Latterly, she was Head of Corporate Support at East Lothian Council, with responsibility for Governance, People Services, HR and Corporate Communications. Over her career, Ms Ferguson has gained extensive experience of local government governanc...
Language Matters
24th May 2024
The Councillors’ Code of Conduct in Scotland requires elected members to behave in a respectful manner towards their colleagues, council officers and members of the public, and to treat them with courtesy at all times when they: are acting as a councillor; have identified as a councillor (for example, by stating they are a councillor on a social media account or in the sign-off to correspondence); or could objectively be considered to be acting as a counci...
New Commission Member
29th April 2024
The Standards Commission is delighted to welcome a new member, Lezley Stewart. Dr Stewart is a graduate of University of St Andrews and University of Edinburgh, and Princeton and Pittsburgh Seminaries, USA. She worked for the Church of Scotland for over 25 years in Dundee and Edinburgh, serving as an ordained Office Holder. Most recently, Dr Stewart was employed as the Recruitment & Support Secretary and Ministries Support Manager for the Church of Scotland with oversi...
New E-Learning Module: What is Confidential Information?
26th April 2024
The Standards Commission has produced a new e-learning module covering confidentiality, sitting alongside the existing modules on the applicability of the Code and the identification and declaration of interests. The new module can be accessed here: https://www.standardscommissionscotland.org.uk/education-and-resources/the-codes-of-conduct If there are any topics...
