, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
So, we would want to see the pairing of constituencies in particular as soon as possible.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
It's been talked about, yes.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
It's been very interesting to have your position on the practicalities, in particular, of how we can deliver these elections if these changes are proposed, and the timescales you require, because, as you will be aware, I think the proposal is to have this, if…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Okay, thank you. Anyone else want to add anything? Well, in that case, I think we've gone through all our questions. But thank you very much for your time this morning.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Okay. Clare, did you want to add anything to that?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
I'll come back to Clare in a minute on that last question, but James had a quick question.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Just before I bring James in, I think we had the evidence last week, on it sitting within the democracy and boundary commission board, that your Scottish counterparts felt that it should be separate from it.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
No, it's not these. Obviously, the Bill proposes the electoral management board model, and I just wondered how the electoral co-ordination board would fit in with all that.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Okay. Any other questions from Members? I've got something, then.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
And therefore would your recommendation be to actually enact that provision to avoid the situation you just said, where it's going to be, basically, a nightmare?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
On that point, the Government of Wales Act 2006 does give provision for varying the date of an election, and perhaps even extraordinary elections as a possibility. Would your preference in that situation be to encourage that provision to be enacted, or does…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Clare, do you have a view on that?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Okay, thank you. We'll move on to James now.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Okay, thank you. Jane.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Clare, do you want to add to that?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
And recall exists in Westminster, clearly. This is going to be a slightly different picture. There's no mention of recall in the Bill. Should there be a recall and, if there was one, would that be easily managed?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Can I ask you, as you mentioned—? We've talked a bit about vacancies, but obviously, one of the causes of a vacancy could be a recall.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
I'll give another possible scenario—it happened in the last Senedd, in a sense—where you have a party where perhaps nearly everybody on that list leaves that party, and, therefore, you don't have a list to actually go back to. So, that's also a possibility…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
I would assume from that—and we're asking about the practicalities here—that would become a standard by-election, as you said now. Ignore the consequences of how that changes the proportional representation agenda originally set, but it is possible…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
James, did you want to come in on this point?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Okay, thank you. Jane.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
So, the costs in the RIA would be different as a consequence of a change of system then?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Can I take that question a bit further? Because STV, for example, has been approved for local authorities, if they decide to operate it, therefore, have you gone through any development as to how that would impact upon an authority that decides to do that?…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Clare.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with Electoral administrators
Thank you. I will move on, then, to Jane.
