, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
Just a final point on this matter of the independent remuneration panel functions moving into the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru. As Members of the Senedd, we have a remuneration board that determines similar sorts of things to what happens currently…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
I think that's a fair point about the people of Wales perhaps not having this as their top priority when it comes to elections in the near future or in the distant future. I just have a concern sometimes that who's pulling what levers to decide what happens…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
Thanks for that. Do you think it's clear who's deciding what when it comes to these matters? I've scribbled down that we've got the democracy and boundary commission, which, as you say, the functions of the independent remuneration panel will be moved into…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
Thanks, Chair. Clearly, within the Bill, there are provisions to abolish the independent remuneration panel, the panel that we'll keep an eye on every year. It's looking to transfer the majority of its functions to the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
Yes, thank you. Thanks, Chair.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
Yes, thanks, Chair. Just perhaps to expand on that a little further, one of the areas within the Bill seeks to allow people to not be auto-enrolled for all sorts of different reasons and there is a 45-day window in which they can do that. Now, it looks like…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
Yes. Thanks, Chair. I appreciate the comments. Just in regard to potential, I guess, confusion, because there are likely, if this goes ahead, to be two different registration systems for those devolved elections, such as for yourselves, local authorities, and…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence Session 4
Thanks, Chair. Morning, all. I appreciate you joining us this morning. I hope you're doing well. I just wanted to ask some questions around the electoral registration without application, so the auto-enrolment element of the Bill, and perhaps you'll be able…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Finance and Local Government: The Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill
Thank you, Minister, for bringing forward this statement to the Chamber here this afternoon. Certainly, local government finance is hugely important, and we're seeing it now play out with councils, coming up to the budget-setting process at the moment. I…
, Plenary
Business Statement and Announcement
Trefnydd, I'd like to call for a statement from the Minister for Climate Change on local authority housing allocation expectations. I've heard concerns from residents in Gwynedd, in my region of North Wales, regarding the social housing register, and they've…
, Plenary
Questions to the First Minister
Thank you, First Minister, for that response there, and it's good to hear that some progress is being made at the site. I think credit needs to be given to Siân Gwenllian for continuously raising this issue here in the Chamber time and time again; I believe…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thanks, Chair. Can I perhaps make a point that there is—? I think it's not a black-and-white area, necessarily. I may win the lottery tonight and therefore perhaps no longer be considered from a socioeconomically difficult background, but all my experiences…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Can I just expand on that a little further, Chair? Is that okay? I think the point I'm perhaps trying to get to is to understand, perhaps, the risk of a system or a structure being put in place that starts to feel like it's getting involved in politics…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you, Chair, and thanks for that response to that question there, Ruth. Just going back to the point where, if I recall correctly, I think you said that you believe that section 28 should be expanded to include support for those from more difficult…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Right, thank you. Thanks, Chair.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 3
Thank you, Chair. Good morning, Ruth. Section 3 of the Bill requires each electoral registration officer in Wales to add eligible electors to the local government register in Wales, where the electoral registration officer is satisfied that the person is…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Thanks. Thanks, Chair.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Thank you. Sorry, if I can jump back to the question I asked earlier about how the pilots might be able to ensure that people can check if they've been missed from the registration process. I'm not sure if anyone else has any thoughts on that at all. You…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Can you just expand on that point about international examples? I think you've shared examples in written evidence around Estonia and how they use a notification system as well. Can you just expand on that point?
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Certainly more trusted than political parties, I guess, in terms of information that they may be giving out from time to time. And then, with the pilots in mind, again, on this theme of auto-enrolment, how do you think the pilots can ensure that people can…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
All right. Can I just ask all four of you, perhaps, if we as a committee are to seek to ensure that the Welsh Government make it as clear as possible for people who want to apply for that anonymous registration or to request not to be registered, how we as a…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
That's a fair point. I wonder, just going back to the registration itself, and the ability for people to want to remain anonymous in registration, again, for blind or partially sighted people, is that just about the way in which that's communicated in terms…
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Okay, lovely. And from RNIB, are there any particular risks you think there may be from those 45 days?
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
So, the barrier there is an awareness thing, perhaps.
, Local Government and Housing Committee
Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill: Evidence session 2
Okay. We haven't got a huge amount of time. I'm still not clear how turning up at a polling station is a barrier to registering to vote. You're going to have to help me out with that.
