, Counsel General and
Minister for the Constitution: Today, the Senedd Cymru
(Members and Elections) Bill and Explanatory Memorandum is laid
before the Senedd.
The Bill provides for the Senedd to have 96 Members, with 6
Members elected per constituency, using the d’Hondt method.
Rather than the majority of Members being elected through a
first-past-the post system, all Members of the Senedd will be
elected using closed proportional lists.
It provides for the creation of 16 Senedd constituencies for the
2026 election, through the pairing of the 32 new UK Parliament
constituencies in Wales in an independent review. It also
provides for a full boundary review to be undertaken ahead of the
subsequent Senedd election to create 16 new Welsh constituencies
from the 2030 election onwards and periodic reviews thereafter.
To achieve this, the Bill provides the Local Democracy and
Boundary Commission for Wales with the functions necessary to
undertake the pairing of the new UK Parliament constituencies in
Wales, to undertake regular reviews of the new Senedd
constituency boundaries thereafter, and renames it as the
Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru.
In association with the overall increase in the Senedd’s size,
and on the recommendation of the Senedd’s Business Committee, the
Bill enables the Senedd to elect an additional Deputy Presiding
Officer. It also increases the legislative limit upon the number
of Welsh Ministers who may be appointed, from 12 to 17. It also
provides a power for Welsh Ministers to further increase this
limit to 18 or 19 with the approval of the Senedd.
The Special Purpose Committee also recommended that further
consideration should be given, on a cross-party basis, to
exploring the feasibility and legislative challenges associated
with enabling election on the basis of job sharing. In response
to this, the Bill provides a pathway for further consideration of
the practical and legislative implications of job-sharing by the
next Senedd.
The Bill provides for returning Senedd elections to a four-year
cycle from 2026.
The Bill also makes provision to disqualify any person who is not
registered in the register of local government electors at an
address within Wales from standing as a candidate for election to
the Senedd, and from being a Member of the Senedd.
Finally, the Bill provides for a review mechanism to consider its
operation and effect.
The Welsh Government has worked with partners to develop detailed
cost estimates that set out the projected financial implications
of this legislation over an 8-year period.
I look forward to scrutiny of the Bill by Members, and to hearing
the views of stakeholders, delivery partners, and the public
during the legislative process.
