“Protected characteristics or socio-economic circumstances.” From 5 January 2026 that exact wording will sit at the centre of how Welsh councillors are expected to behave, as updated standards and conduct rules come into force. The regulations were made on 19 November 2025 and laid before the Senedd on 21 November, according to legislation.gov.uk.

The Welsh Government’s Local Government (Standards Committees and Member Conduct) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2025 tighten who can serve as an independent member on standards committees. If someone previously held a senior, cabinet or executive post in an authority - including executive leader, cabinet member, chair, vice‑chair, presiding or deputy presiding member, elected mayor, deputy mayor or an Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chair - they cannot join the standards committee of that same authority for five years after leaving that role.

Former members who did not hold a senior or executive role face a shorter bar: they must wait two years before serving on the standards committee of the authority where they were a councillor. The same approach now applies across Wales’s corporate joint committees (CJCs): ex‑members of a CJC, or of its constituent councils or national park authorities, must wait two years, rising to five where the person held a senior, cabinet or executive post in a constituent council.

The rules also cover officers. In general, former officers can sit as independent members, but there is a two‑year bar if they previously held a politically restricted post or acted as a registration officer in that authority. For CJCs, a former officer who held a politically restricted post in the CJC or its constituent bodies, or who was a registration officer in a constituent council, must also wait two years before joining the CJC’s standards committee.

Alongside eligibility changes, ministers have updated the equality and respect principle in both the Conduct of Members (Principles) Order 2001 and the Model Code of Conduct. The older list - “gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, age or religion” - is replaced by “protected characteristics or socio‑economic circumstances”, using the Equality Act 2010 definition for the former and expressly adding socio‑economic considerations.

For councils in North Wales, these changes shape recruitment and training plans well into 2026. For partners just over the border in Cheshire, Wirral and the wider North West who sit on Welsh‑led boards or cross‑border projects around the Mersey Dee, the message is clear: while the regulations do not change English law, they set the tone for behaviour and appointment practice when working in Welsh‑governed settings.

Practically, democratic services and HR teams will need to refresh person specifications, check recent service histories for former councillors and officers, record start and end dates to evidence the two‑ or five‑year thresholds, and update training so members understand the revised equality wording. Town and community councils will also need to reflect the code changes in local training materials and complaints handling.

The Welsh Government says it consulted the Auditor General for Wales and the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales before making the regulations. A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared; the instrument notes copies are available from the Local Government Division and published on gov.wales. The Regulations are signed by Jayne Bryant, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, dated 19 November 2025.

Legally, the instrument amends the Standards Committees (Wales) Regulations 2001, the Conduct of Members (Principles) (Wales) Order 2001, and the Local Authorities (Model Code of Conduct) (Wales) Order 2008 under Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2000. It also inserts clear definitions for “politically restricted post”, “registration officer” and “senior, cabinet or executive post” to reduce ambiguity in appointments and complaints.