, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
'Consequential', 'material'—I think they probably mean pretty much the same thing. Whether there's a legislative difference, I wouldn't see it, but—.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Material changes are ultimately going to be determined by the Welsh Ministers. I suppose, turning the question round, the question is what are immaterial changes. Material changes would be things that change the substance of a recommendation. An immaterial…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
I don't think it's normal to have this within the legislation. What happens when a committee makes recommendations is there is a Government response to that. It's a response on which Ministers are scrutinised both in committee and on the floor of the Senedd…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
They were certainly very controversial proposals, weren't they, in terms of the extent to which Parliament could change or set the framework within which the Electoral Commission operated. Those raised serious concerns about the extent to which it enabled, I…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
I think because it forms a specific function of the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission of course is accountable to a very specific committee, isn't it—to the Llywydd's Committee—as well. So, that is an important check and balance on that as well.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Yes.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
I think it's the flexibility of change that needs to take place from time to time. What is important is not so much the ability to make the changes but what the checks and balances are on the exercise of those particular powers. As I've said already, those…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Thank you for the explanation. Adam, back to you.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
The power there is limited to the powers of the pilot and its scope, but it would be subject to the superaffirmative process, and I think that is set out in section 20 of the legislation. There's a whole series of conditions that are set there as to how that…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
I think it's essentially about enabling the Welsh Ministers to modify it in order to make the pilots more effective. I know this is something that was looked at quite closely. Michael.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Yes. And I think that's set out fairly clearly in section 7(4). If you look at categories (a), (b) and (c) of that, both with auto-registration for a council that hasn't given consent, or for creating or widening the scope of a criminal offence. So, there are…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Yes. I think there are different processes in terms of what would have to be done for that to actually happen. We're thinking particularly in terms of where something is being done without the consent of a local authority as well, for example. I'll go to…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Can you just repeat your explanation again of the—?
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
I think it's something that we wouldn't envisage happening regularly. It might be, for example, if they wanted to have a pilot that was an all-Wales pilot. What you wouldn't want is for it not to become an all-Wales pilot because one local authority didn't…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
There's nothing in place other than that when you're in an environment like we are, where you've got fast-moving technology, continual change year on year, you just don't know what the recommendations might be for the future or what the recommendations or…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
I'll check with Gareth in a minute, but I think the—. The power, correctly, I think, the first citing wouldn't be regulations in that sense. The power emanates from section 53 of the Representation of the People Act, and that's where I think there was…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
The section 18 that you're referring to, which is in the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, was a very narrow piece of legislation. It gave a power to do something, but it didn't have any detail in terms of how that might be operated. What this…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Well, I think the purpose is to protect the independence of the commission itself, and I think that's what they actually do.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Well, I think the purpose is to, basically, give Ministers the capacity to confer functions on the electoral management board.
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Well, I think the answer is that I think they are actually within there. If you look at section 5, which sets out the 'Pilot regulations: powers', then there's quite a series of requirements in terms of how pilots would be regulated—section 7, 'Pilot…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Well, I'd have thought that would be a matter for the new commission and the electoral management board to actually look at. So, if there were proposals there saying, 'This is how the counting system could best operate', I would have thought that would be…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Well, I think the point is that the intention is that the electoral management board will be the body. Whether that is the case in the long term, it depends what lessons you learn first on, whether there might be other options in terms of that platform being…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Yes, there is a process there that would allow changes to the criminal provisions that are there. That's at the scale of sentences that are there. Sorry, Gareth?
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
I'm not quite sure how you could introduce a pilot for compulsory voting without actually overcoming all the hurdles that will exist, whether it be human rights issues that would need to be considered, and also the legislative mechanics that will be necessary…
, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session
Leaving that last one for the moment, on all the other ones I think the Bill is designed in a particular way that is very specific. We do want to see how technology can advance the ability to participate in elections. You'll be aware, of course, we had the…
