Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer, for my being able to contribute once again on this subject and respond on behalf of the Commission. I also want to take the opportunity to thank all the political parties that have been collaborating over the last year as part of the political reference group on Assembly reform—Angela Burns, Mike Penn, Peter Black and Robin Hunter-Clarke. The meetings of this group have been very beneficial, with all of the parties ready to contribute ideas and comments on the options that are before us. We intend to continue to have those meetings of the reference group as we develop this work further.

Earlier this afternoon, we had the Assembly’s support to note the report on the expert panel on Assembly reform, and to approve the decision by the Assembly Commission to consult on the recommendations of the report. Therefore, we will be moving forward now to engage broadly in a constructive way with constituents across Wales to hear their viewpoints and their priorities in terms of how we can develop our own Parliament for the next 20 years of devolution.

Despite the political differences in this Chamber, I’m sure all of us want to see action in order to promote the democratic process, and to ensure that we serve in the most thorough, representative and transparent Parliament. The motion in this debate tries to temp us to take a position on one aspect of the electoral reforms. As Chair of the Commission, I’ll be allowing the consultation to take place before the Senedd takes particular viewpoints, remembering that any increase or electoral reform through legislation won’t be possible without the support of two thirds of the Members of this Senedd.