Parliament to agree the appointment of two new members of the Standards Commission for Scotland

The role of the Standards Commission is to promote high ethical standards in public life through the promotion and enforcement of Codes of Conduct for Councilors and members of devolved public bodies.

The appointment of Morag Ferguson and Lezley Stewart follows an open recruitment process.

An existing member of the Commission, Suzanne Vestri, will take up the position of convener on 7 May 2024, when the current postholder demits office.  This appointment also follows open recruitment but does not require Parliament’s endorsement, as Ms Vestri is already a Commission member.

New members: biographical information

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 governance and of working with Elected Members, holding the statutory role of Monitoring Officer at both Fife Council and East Lothian Council. She has also developed and delivered training on governance and the Councillors’ Code of Conduct and was a member of the SOLAR Monitoring Officers Networking Group.

Lezley Stewart

A graduate of University of St Andrews and University of Edinburgh, and Princeton and Pittsburgh Seminaries, USA.  Dr Stewart 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 oversight of the recruitment and assessment processes for the Ministries of the Church,and had responsibility for the centralised support provisions and policies for those serving as Office Holders, providing advice and guidance and working with a Code of Conduct.

Remuneration – Commission Members

The role requires Commission Members to be able to spend 24 days per year on commission business and additional days for Hearings.

The daily fee for Members is £277.55 and the hourly fee rate for attendance at Hearings is £37.

The appointments are for a fixed term of 6 years.

Remuneration – Convener of the Commission

The time commitment for the Convener of the Commission is 36 days per annum plus additional days for Hearings.

The daily fee for the Convener is £332.35 and the hourly fee for attendance at Hearings is £37.