Jeremy Miles: Deputy Presiding Officer, amendments 100 to 126 from Darren Millar all seek to remove from the Bill the provisions which enfranchise of 16 and 17-year-olds and the administrative provisions necessary to give effect to the enfranchisement. They strike at the heart of the Bill in trying to do so, and I invite Members to reject these amendments because they remove one of the key aims of this...
Jeremy Miles: In relation to amendment 3 and 4 and the duty on secondary schools to promote awareness, I share the intent behind the amendments, that we provide young people with the information in a rich context that they require to make these informed decisions. The question is how we go about achieving that, and the new curriculum arrangements seek to allow for a broadening of learning and supporting...
Jeremy Miles: Deputy Presiding Officer, the Government’s amendments 163 and 165, in my name, are a direct response to amendments 6 and 40 from David Melding, and amendment 160 by Darren Millar.
Jeremy Miles: As Members know, the Bill makes important changes to the franchise and to the rules disqualifying people from candidacy in those elections or from membership of the Senedd. It's right that the Senedd should have an opportunity, in due course, to review the operation of those changes. David Melding’s amendment 6 seeks to facilitate that sort of review, by requiring Welsh Ministers to...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. David Melding's amendments deal with both the potential voting rights and the potential candidacy for election to and membership of the Senedd of qualifying foreign citizens.
Jeremy Miles: And I think, in dealing with the amendments, I will just reflect on how we are in our present position. As David and Suzy's remarks have of course indicated, the Bill as introduced made no provision for the extension, but at Stage 2 the Assembly has supported that principle, as it did the principle of extending the rights of candidacy and membership of the Senedd. David's amendments in this...
Jeremy Miles: Yes.
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Member for that intervention. The scrutiny provisions already encompass provision to report on the effectiveness of these provisions in relation to the extension of the franchise to qualifying foreign citizens and also the candidacy provisions and the membership provisions. So, I wanted to encompass within that broader review mechanism the full spectrum of the changes to the Bill...
Jeremy Miles: Yes.
Jeremy Miles: Well, the response to the consultation on the name of the institution obviously has weighed in our considerations in relation to that, for the reason that he gives. So, I think the consultation response has been an important contribution to the development of the position in relation to this and in relation to the name of the institution. So, in conclusion, I want to invite the Senedd to...
Jeremy Miles: Where a claim for asylum has been granted, and leave to remain comes with that, then individuals will be able to register and to vote. I hope that provides the clarification.
Jeremy Miles: Well, the definition of 'qualifying foreign citizen' that is used in the Bill is the same definition that is used in immigration law generally, and it ties the right to vote to leave to remain, or not requiring leave to remain. And there are some examples that are subsets of that, which are examples that I've just given. But the test is whether someone has leave to remain or doesn't require...
Jeremy Miles: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm happy to move the lead amendment and to speak to the other amendments in this group.
Jeremy Miles: At Stage 2, the Bill was amended to include a new provision making the Electoral Commission accountable to the Senedd for the exercise of its functions in relation to devolved Welsh elections, and providing that the Electoral Commission would be funded for those functions from the Welsh consolidated fund. I will take the Government amendments first. Amendments 66 and 67 remove the provisions...
Jeremy Miles: I thank the Llywydd and David Melding for their contributions to the debate. Clearly, we share the objective of creating clear and accountable financing arrangements for the Electoral Commission, reflecting their responsibilities to the Senedd. And I would just say that the amendments made at Stage 3 are a reflection of the discussion had in the Chamber at Stage 2. There were competing...
Jeremy Miles: Formally.
Jeremy Miles: Formally.
Jeremy Miles: Formally.
Jeremy Miles: Formally.
Jeremy Miles: Formally.
