We believe it is important that the Assembly's financing and accountability relationship with the Electoral Commission is placed on a formal footing, and we stand ready to work with the Llywydd, the Electoral Commission and the Treasury in light of Stage 1 scrutiny, to explore whether we could take this further than the Bill currently provides for.

The Welsh Government also supports the clear demarcation that the Bill provides between those disqualified from being a candidate in Assembly elections and those disqualified from becoming an Assembly Member. We will be giving more thought as the Bill progresses to whether any further changes are needed to the detail of these provisions. We also recognise the objectives behind the provision in Part 5 of a power for the Welsh Ministers to implement Law Commission recommendations about elections. But we do not believe that it is either necessary or appropriate for this power to be in the hands of Welsh Ministers, and we would like to explore this further during scrutiny. 

We welcome the opportunity presented by Part 2 to consider renaming this institution to reflect its central role as a legislature in Welsh life. The decision on what the name should be is for the Assembly as a whole to make, but we would urge all Members to bear in mind that the provisions of this Bill will amend the Government of Wales Act 2006—our key constitutional statute. So, it's very important that we make sure that the provisions on the name change, as well as on other matters, are as clear and as accessible as possible. As the Bill is currently drafted, I am concerned that this is not the case. I will be writing to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee shortly to provide more information about the Welsh Government's initial position on the Bill. But I hope that the Llywydd, as the Member in charge, can confirm that she shares my view, and that of the Government, that this Bill, as a crucial piece of constitutional legislation, should, as far as possible, be an exemplar for constitutional reform, and that she will continue to work closely with me, as well as with Assembly committees, other interested Members and our stakeholders, to ensure that this is the case.