Who is the Commissioner and what does he do?

The current Commissioner is Stuart Allan, who became the Scottish Parliament's Standards Commissioner in April 2009. He was appointed following an open recruitment by the Parliament's Corporate Body, with the agreement of Parliament, for a two year term.

The Commissioner investigates complaints that an MSP has broken the Code of Conduct for MSPs. He does this independently of Parliament and reports his findings to Parliament, but within a set of rules laid down in an Act of Parliament, the Scottish Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Act 2002.

The Code of Conduct gives guidance to MSPs on how to carry out their Parliamentary duties. Breaches of the Code cover things like failing to respect the privacy of constituents, not making known financial interests that might conflict with work as an MSP, accepting rewards in return for promoting particular issues and giving favoured access to people who use lobbying firms. The Code is published on the Parliament website on the MSP page, at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/conduct/index.htm. Copies can be made available by contacting the office of the Clerks to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee at the Parliament address given on the homepage (Tel: 0131 348 5177)

What can the Commissioner not do?

The Commissioner only investigates whether or not the MSP has done what has been complained about and whether that means that the Code of Conduct has been broken. Parliament decides what consequences should follow if there has been a breach of the Code.

The Commissioner deals with complaints only about MSPs, not their staff or other employees of the Parliament.

The Commissioner does not deal with ALL complaints against MSPs:

• Complaints about the conduct of MSPs in a meeting of Parliament go to the Presiding Officer
• Complaints about the conduct of MSPs in a committee go to the committee convener
• Complaints under section 8 of the Code (Engagement and liaison with constituents) go to the Presiding Officer
• Complaints about a member's treatment of the Parliament's staff go to the Parliament's Human Resources office. Complaints about the treatment of the staff of another member go to the member's business manager
• Complaints about Cross Party Groups go to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee
• Complaints about misuse of the Members' Expenses Scheme go to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body
• Complaints about misuse of Parliamentary facilities and services go to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body
• Complaints about Ministers acting as Ministers, not as MSPs, are dealt with by the office of the First Minister at St Andrew's House.

For further information see Route Map: your guide to complaining about Public Services in Scotland.