, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, of course, the electoral management board will, of course, take the responsibility in respect of the functions set out within the Bill for Welsh elections. But, of course, this legislation is only in respect of Welsh elections. Reserved elections, that…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I think the report will go to the Senedd, so it will be a report that is tabled in Senedd for debate within the Senedd as a whole. I don't know whether that's the practice elsewhere et cetera, but that would be where Members have the direct ability to assess…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I hope it will. There will be engagement, of course, with stakeholders and so on, but I think the intention is—. And the only real way that these things can work, I think, most effectively, is by developing a modus of consensus and so on. I might perhaps go…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, I think the accountability—. There are two things we need to be very careful about. Firstly, that there is not political interference in the way in which elections are managed and the way boards operate, but clearly there has to be an overall…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
At the moment, what we do have is a voluntary arrangement of electoral registration officers [correction: regional returning officers] who come together to work collectively, and of course it has been for some time a consideration that this really needed to…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, I've given consideration to that, and I think it is fully compliant and compatible with the convention rights. You'll be aware that within that provision the automatic addition of people to the electoral register does have within this particular Bill…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I have specifically looked. It does engage article 10. Article 10 is, really, the provision in respect of freedom of expression, freedom to communicate and so on. But it is, of course, a qualified right, so, basically, as long as I can establish that it's…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Well, my consideration of competence, which I have a duty to, not only as the Member tabling the Bill and taking the Bill through the Senedd, but also in terms, I suppose, of my role as Counsel General as well, is to ensure that the Bill is within competence…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence from the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I'll ask them to introduce themselves.
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): The Holodomor
Putin's current atrocities in Ukraine are part of a long-term pattern of Russian oppression of Ukraine, stretching back many decades and, indeed, centuries. Marking Holodomor in this way shines a light on this. The event will provide opportunity to reaffirm…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): The Holodomor
This year we have organised an event here at the Senedd on 25 November, kindly sponsored by my fellow Member Alun Davies. The event will include participation from the First Minister, Welsh Government Ministers, local government, Ukrainian and Welsh religious…
, Plenary
Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): The Holodomor
Thank you to Alun Davies, Darren Millar and Heledd Fychan for tabling this important debate on behalf of all of the main political parties represented at the Senedd. I believe that the cross-party nature of this debate demonstrates our unanimous support for…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
No, I think that's—. Listen, that's an element and that's a matter I'm sure the Senedd will do. It's one of those unknowns that, once the pairing is known, you'll know where it is. It also, I suppose, depends on where people actually live, where they actually…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Once the legislation is passed, it's officially empowered to actually do the pairing, but the pairing has to be by a particular date, doesn't it?
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
There are criteria, I think, that they have to take into account, but, you're right, it is a much more straightforward process.
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
It's obviously not going to be reviewing the boundaries per se, it's the pairing, isn't it, that they will be doing. Because for this, for 2026, we're using the parliamentary boundaries that are now established. The election after that—. Sorry, eight years—…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
The boundary commission, obviously, is a body that operates completely independently of Government. Within the assessment there are obviously transitional costs of £42,000 that are there, and there is, obviously, the cost of the boundary reviews that will be…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
What's interesting is that the Bill provides for a review, but a very early review, and that would be probably more to do with how the elections operated, the systems that were in place, the electoral system and so on. But certainly, as time goes on—and it…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I think the appropriate stage for that will obviously be during the stages of the legislation if there are further changes that we know about that we can then evaluate and add further information to. It may be that, for example, some of the imponderables…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Sorry—could you just say the last bit? At what point—?
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
It was purely that that was the recommendation of the special purpose committee, so therefore that is what we have worked on and translated into the legislation. And you're also right, aren't you, on the fact that, of course, what we're doing is basically…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I don't know if that helps. I don't know if—.
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
I think there are inevitably costs that relate to when the 2026 election comes in terms of how it is communicated, and of course, referring to the other Bill, we're looking at a platform of information and so on. So, those are the costs that actually relate…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
Obviously, they have to be addressed. Hopefully, that isn't something that will occur, because we think we have the best estimates. But, obviously, we engage with all those bodies that are engaged in the electoral process that we're responsible for to ensure…
, Finance Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution
The first thing is that the costs borne by local authorities in respect of elections are borne by the Welsh Government, so they are paid for. We do have the figures in respect of previous elections, and so on. The uncertainties predominantly flow from the…
