Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I welcome this Bill, which is another important milestone in the journey of devolution.

The Welsh Government is very supportive of the three main aims of the Bill, as we see them. First of all, giving the Senedd a name that reflects its status as a legislature, secondly, giving young people an opportunity to vote, and thirdly, providing greater clarity for possible candidates as to their eligibility.

Specifically, the Welsh Government is entirely supportive of extending the franchise to young people of 16 and 17 years of age in Part 3 of the Bill. This was a commitment in the Welsh Government’s national strategy ‘Prosperity for All’, and I’m very pleased that we can provide assistance through our officials to produce the provisions in this Part. We believe that the franchise for Assembly elections and local authority elections should be consistent. Specifically, we want to see the Bill extending the franchise to include foreign nationals who are legally resident in Wales, to reflect the provisions that we will introduce in relation to the local government franchise.

In addition to that, the Assembly recently expressed its view that it supports the right of prisoners to vote in Welsh elections. We support that view in principle and await with interest the conclusions of the equality committee’s inquiry.