Political ethics body given ‘clean bill of health’ by auditors, MSPs told

The ethics body that investigates complaints about MSPs and councillors has been given a “clean bill of health” by auditors, a Holyrood committee has heard.

However the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland (CESPLS) admitted that waiting times for the handling of complaints about politicians and members of public bodies need to improve further.

In December 2021, Audit Scotland revealed “disturbing” failings at CESPLS.

It emerged that the organisation, which assesses complaints before deciding whether to investigate, had wrongly dismissed some cases at the eligibility stage and carried out “informal” investigations.

The current commissioner, Ian Bruce, was tasked with improving performance at the independent ethics body.

On Thursday, he spoke to members of Holyrood’s Standards Committee as they considered his annual report.

He said Audit Scotland and the organisation’s internal auditors did not have any recommendations in their latest report.

Mr Bruce said: “In effect, our office now has a clean bill of health.”

Under questioning from Central Scotland MSP Stephen Kerr, Mr Bruce said CESPLS was transparent about waiting times for initial assessment of complaints.

The organisation’s website says it can take four and a half months for initial assessments to take place.

Mr Kerr said that for complaints about councillors, some cases can take most of a year to be dealt with.

Mr Bruce said: “I know it’s not good enough.”

He added that the organisation is working to clear backlogs and had made progress on waiting times.