I am particularly pleased to be setting out these electoral reforms today because we will very shortly be celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the first women being allowed to vote in elections in the United Kingdom and the introduction of universal male suffrage. It is therefore fitting that I am able to state my intention, making use of the powers due to be transferred to this Parliament under the Wales Act 2017 from April, to extend the franchise further in a number of ways.

Presiding Officer, I intend that 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next local elections. We will be following Scotland in this, and their experience already shows how much young people of that age welcome the opportunity and make use of it to further the democratic process. Within schools, the active citizenship theme of personal and social education will provide young people with an understanding of politics and the right to vote.  

Everyone who has committed to life and living in Wales should be able to play a part in our inclusive democracy. We intend to allow anyone from any nationality who resides in Wales to be able to register and vote in our elections. This will transcend the debate over the future of EU citizens’ voting rights by making clear that people from all nations and nationalities who have made their homes here should be able to participate fully in our democracy.

I am also exploring options for extending the rights of prisoners to vote in local government elections if their due release date falls before the end of the term of office of the council being elected. They would be able to vote by post or by proxy on the basis of a connected address in Wales, usually their last address. People who are sent to prison need to feel part of the community when they are released, and the right to vote will form part of this.

Presiding Officer, I intend that local government will move to a five-year term, in keeping with this Parliament and that intended for the United Kingdom Parliament. Individual councils will be able to choose whether to change to the single transferable vote system. A change would first require two thirds of the council in question to vote in favour of changing. The new system would have to be used for the next two rounds of ordinary elections.

I also intend to make some changes governing candidacy at local elections. I want to follow the practice that already applies to parliamentary elections and allow candidates to publish just the ward where they live rather than their home address on election documents. I will also put arrangements in place to enable candidates to publish policy statements on a council website.

I also intend to make it easier for council employees to stand for election to their own council. At present, they have to resign before they can even stand as a candidate. I will change this so that they only have to resign if elected. However, I will also urge local authorities to offer career breaks for at least the first term of office.

Presiding Officer, that is my initial proposal. I am also aware that many Members feel that at least some council employees should be able to serve as councillors in their own authority, and I will listen carefully to the deliberations on this matter during scrutiny. I wish to put on record that I will positively look for ways in which we can accommodate these views when we come to legislate. I therefore will be approaching this with a completely open mind and will be looking at ways of enabling council employees to stand for election to their own authority.

I believe the central issue here is around remuneration. If the levels of payments made to councillors for doing their job was more comparable with wages, taking a break from other employment would become more realistic. I intend to review this matter, together with the independent remuneration panel, over coming months.

Presiding Officer, I strongly believe that Members of this Assembly should not also be councillors and I intend to legislate so that they become disqualified from council membership. I am also going to require candidates to declare any registered political party membership if they are not standing under a party banner. Failure to do so could result in disqualification.

Finally, I intend to amend legislation so that the role of returning officer will be undertaken by the council's chief executive. The returning officer, usually the council's most highly paid officer, will no longer be able to claim a personal fee from their own council or for running Welsh parliamentary elections. It is not publicly acceptable, particularly at a time when ordinary council workers are subject to such restraint. I commend this statement to the Chamber.