Questions raised about whether Tory staffers broke Senedd rules

Emily Price

Questions have been raised about whether Andrew RT Davies' staff broke the Senedd's rules this week by posting party political material on his behalf.

In a post to X on Thursday (19 December) Mr Davies published a photo of three of his Senedd staffers holding copies of a spoof magazine with the caption, "Out in the Vale of Glamorgan this afternoon delivering the latest edition of South Wales Living."

Mr Davies could also be seen in the photo alongside Senedd team members George Carroll, Conor Holohan and Adrian Robson.

The South Wales Central MS said he wanted to do something different with his Christmas newsletter this year after an eventful few weeks which saw him ousted by members of his own group.

The newsletter has been described as "a shameless attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of constituents".

It is presented much like a legitimate free magazine and includes an interview with Davies himself with an alleged "political reporter".

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'Unhinged'

In a version of the publication posted online by the former Tory leader, there is no disclaimer to indicate the leaflet was funded by the Senedd Commission.

Instead, the small print on the back states that the leaflet was "promoted by George Carroll on behalf of Andrew RT Davies."

A Conservative source said: "It is an obvious breach of the Senedd’s rules not to use your taxpayer-funded staff to deliver party political leaflets.

"Andrew’s unhinged rant deserves to be on the pages of a conspiracy theorist’s website, not posted through the doors of the poor, unsuspecting people of the Vale of Glamorgan’s doors.

"This will inevitably end up leading Andrew to another embarrassing trip to the Standards Commissioner, dragging the whole party through the mud in the process.

"It beggars belief that Andrew thought to tweet that photo out. You’d think he was almost begging someone to put in a complaint!"

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Rules

Point 3 of the rules and guidance on the employment of staff funded by Commission resources states:

• Members must ensure that all staff employed by them only undertake work in connection with a Member’s duties, and activities permitted by the Remuneration Board, during the time they are contracted to undertake work which is remunerated with Commission resources.
• The application of this rule means that Support staff employed by a Member must not be actively engaged in campaigning as part of their contracted hours of work.
• There is no Commission restriction on staff undertaking such activity outside their contracted working hours (for these purposes taking account of any Member's time off in lieu (TOIL) or Flexi-time arrangements with their staff), while on annual leave or while on unpaid special leave.
• Any periods of unpaid special leave must be notified to Members’ Business Support (MBS) in advance in order that the appropriate financial adjustment may be made.
• Members must consider the processes they need to put in place in order to ensure that their staff only undertake work in connection with the Member’s duties (ie the purpose for which the provision is made) during their working time. That process might, but is not required to, include keeping accurate records of hours worked by each staff member.
• Members or their staff may, on occasion, also hold another job, office or role (e.g. a local councillor). Where this arises, Members should ensure that their staff do not carry out work during their contracted working hours paid for by Commission resources on business which properly relates to such other roles, unless permitted by the Remuneration Board. This applies whether or not resources are provided by the body concerned.

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Absences

A Welsh Conservative spokesperson said the newsletter was "nothing to do with the group office" and that any questions about it should be put to Mr Davies himself.

We asked Andrew RT Davies a series of questions:

*Were the leaflets funded by the taxpayer, or by the Tory party, or by yourself?

*If they were not funded by the Senedd Commission, why were your Senedd staffers delivering them?

*Were all three of your Senedd staffers on leave at the same time?

*If so, were all their absences recorded internally on the Senedd's MBS system?

We did not receive a response.