Wales changes standards committee rules from Jan 2026

New rules are on the way for how councils in Wales recruit independent members to their standards committees and how equality is framed in member conduct. According to legislation.gov.uk, the Local Government (Standards Committees and Member Conduct) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2025 were made on 19 November 2025, laid before the Senedd on 21 November, and take effect on 5 January 2026 (2025 No. 1217 (W. 199)).

If you’re new to this, standards committees are small groups that help a council keep behaviour fair and respectful. They promote and maintain high standards, advise on the code of conduct, monitor how it works and support training. That’s how Welsh Government explains their purpose in its statutory guidance, and every relevant authority in Wales must have one under the Local Government Act 2000.

Here’s the big change for former councillors who want to become independent members. If you previously held a senior, cabinet or executive post in that authority - think leader, cabinet member, elected mayor, chair or a scrutiny chair - you must wait five years before serving on that same authority’s standards committee. If you were a councillor without one of those roles, the waiting time is two years. The rules also cover corporate joint committees: two years if you previously sat on the committee or one of its constituent bodies, and five years if you held a senior or executive post in a constituent council.

Former officers can also serve as independent members, but with a cooling‑off period in specific cases. If you held a politically restricted post or served as a registration officer in the authority, there’s a two‑year wait before you can join that authority’s standards committee. The same two‑year rule applies for corporate joint committees where the politically restricted work was in the CJC itself or in a constituent authority or National Park authority, and for registration officers in a constituent authority.

To avoid doubt, the regulations spell out key terms. A “senior, cabinet or executive post” includes chair and vice‑chair under the 1972 Act, presiding member and deputy presiding member, elected mayor and deputy, executive leader, members of a council’s executive (cabinet), and an overview and scrutiny committee chair. “Politically restricted post” takes its meaning from the 1989 Act, and “registration officer” from the 1983 Act. This matters because it decides who needs to wait before serving as an independent member.

There’s an equality update too. The Conduct of Members (Principles) Order and the Model Code of Conduct now refer to “protected characteristics or socio‑economic circumstances” instead of listing only a few examples like gender or race. In practice, that asks councillors to show respect and avoid discrimination linked to the Equality Act categories, while being mindful of class and income disadvantage in how they speak and act locally.

What it means: protected characteristics are set out in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 - age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. “Socio‑economic circumstances” is not one of those nine in the Act; the Welsh update puts it clearly into the local conduct principle to push for respectful behaviour across class and income lines.

If you’re thinking of applying as an independent member, do a quick self‑check. When did you last serve as a councillor and in what role? If you stepped down from a leader, cabinet or other senior role fewer than five years ago, you’ll need to wait. If you were a backbench member, the wait is two years for that same authority. If you were an officer in a politically restricted or registration post, set a two‑year reminder from the date you left that post.

For councils and corporate joint committees, the timeline is tight but clear. The regulations were made on 19 November 2025, laid on 21 November and come into force on 5 January 2026, so December is the window to update recruitment packs, induction slides and any local guidance to reflect the new waiting times and equality wording. The instrument was signed by Jayne Bryant, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, which you can also confirm on GOV.WALES.

Study note for classrooms and council briefings: why set waiting periods at all? Cooling‑off periods help protect independence and public confidence by avoiding any sense that recent insiders are policing their former colleagues. A helpful debate prompt for students and members is whether five years and two years feel proportionate, and how best to embed respect for people’s socio‑economic background alongside the Equality Act’s nine characteristics. Our summary draws on the published text on legislation.gov.uk and Welsh Government guidance.