I thank the Counsel General for his comments and for his questions, and may I agree with what he has said in concluding? This is an important constitutional Bill, so it’s important that it is an exemplar of good legislation that this Assembly and Senedd is responsible for. And I very much hope that, in putting forward this legislation and in scrutinising it, we will exhibit that clearly.

There are a number of questions that you’ve outlined, Counsel General, where there is agreement between what has been put forward in the Bill and what you aspire towards as a Government, and I am very grateful for that.

On the franchise, of course, the Government is looking to extend the franchise for local government elections in 2022 to young people of 16 and 17 years of age. And it’s been important that I, as I’ve developed this Bill, have worked very closely with Government officials and with you as Counsel General, and that we do that in a common manner, and in a way that uses the mechanism of this Bill that will look at extending the franchise for the election that will come before us first, namely the Assembly election in 2021.

There are two aspects of this, and you have referred to them, that aren’t included in the Bill, as it has been drafted and presented, to extend the franchise, and that is to foreign nationals and to prisoners. And, of course, there are quite complex issues related to both aspects, and perhaps we haven’t received a full mandate from the Assembly to look at extending the franchise to foreign nationals in putting forward the Bill. But I do very much hope, as we discuss and debate within the committee, and within the full Assembly, that, if there is a way for us to look to ensure relatively early as we extended the franchise, that the franchise for this Assembly and the franchise for local government are aligned. I don’t think that it is advantageous in any way for us to have two different franchises for our domestic elections, in those local government elections and in the national elections. And so, I will listen very carefully to what the committee and others will have to say, as this Bill goes ahead

And on your comment on the Law Commission, it’s very interesting for me to hear the Government saying, perhaps, that they wouldn’t be eager to see the powers that are put forward in this legislation to Government; they would want to see them remaining in the legislature. Perhaps that is again a matter for the committee to consider.

And finally, on your point about the need for this legislation, as constitutional legislation, to be as clear as possible for the people of Wales, and in thinking about the clauses that rename the Assembly as the 'Senedd', there is reference that you’ve made to the opinion that you have about ways that these clauses could be made clearer. There is reference made in the explanatory memorandum as well to the consideration that I gave to changes to the way that these clauses were drafted; because of some issues related to competence, and discussion about competence, the clauses on the name of the institution were drafted as they have been presented. But I’m sure that the committee will, once again, give due consideration anew to the points that you’ve made, and the points that are outlined in the explanatory memorandum.

And so, thank you for your support in principle for a number of different aspects that are put forward in the Bill today. Again, I look forward to collaborating with you, and also about what you said about your support for making the Electoral Commission accountable, in terms of its budget and its general accountability, to this Assembly, rather than to the Westminster Parliament for elections in Wales—local and national.