Thank you. It's a pleasure for me to open today's debate on the general principles of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill. I'm grateful to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee and the Finance Committee for discussing the Bill thoroughly and to everyone who's taken part in developing this Bill and scrutinising it. I will be responding in writing to the recommendations made by the two committees in full, but I'll respond to some recommendations this afternoon as well. A number of recommendations are for the Assembly Commission and the Welsh Government, and I had constructive discussions with the Counsel General about those recommendations last week.

Before turning to the key findings of the committees, I want to repeat that the general aim of this Bill is to create a more effective and accessible Senedd, ensuring that the framework of our democracy is fit for purpose, remembering that the scope of the Assembly's powers has increased significantly since it was first established in 1999. Now, this Bill is a significant step towards that aim and I welcome the fact that the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee has recommended that the Assembly does agree to the general principles of the Bill. I will be discussing the different parts in the order in which they appear in the Bill.

Now, turning to the change of name, the evidence that the committee received reflects the significant support for changing the name of the Assembly. When this institution will be celebrating its twenty-first anniversary next year, I'm confident that we'll be giving it a new name that reflects its status as Wales's national legislature. Now, different points of view were expressed during Stage 1 with regard to what the new name should be and how the related legislation should be worded. I had foreseen that the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee would express an opinion on the evidence received on those issues. I feel that the members of the committee had different views on this matter, and we would have benefited from seeing these being outlined in the report.

Now, the Bill suggests that the name of the Assembly should be changed to 'Senedd', and that the Senedd could also be called 'Welsh Parliament'. As the committee hasn't suggested a different name, I don't see any reason to amend this part of the Bill. So, it's a matter for the Members in this Siambr to decide what the name should be. It's not just an issue of changing the name of the institution itself, but of reflecting its status in the name of Members too. There's simplicity to the name Senedd, and calling us 'Members of the Senedd—Aelodau o'r Senedd'.

Now, the Bill also proposes lowering the minimum voting age to 16 and I'm pleased to see that the clear support of the public in the consultation 'Creating a Parliament for Wales' has been reflected in the evidence given to committees on this issue. Developing this part of the Bill has been a joint effort with the Welsh Government, reflecting the fact that it too intends to lower the voting age for local government elections. I'm grateful for their support to ensure a consistent approach on this.

It's appropriate that the committees have emphasised the importance of citizenship education to ensure that young people are encouraged to vote. Since I gave evidence to the committee, the strategic focus of this work, namely the democratic renewal group of the Welsh Government, has been established and has met. Civic bodies such as schools and youth organisations will take part in the work under the auspices of this group.

Now, several recommendations asked for more information about the costs and responsibilities of lowering the voting age, and I will, of course, be more than happy to do this and to update the cost assessment before Stage 3. I've discussed the points raised by the committees with the Counsel General, who will respond to their recommendations with further information.

Turning now to the funding and accountability of the Electoral Commission in Wales, the Wales Act 2017 transferred responsibility for devolved elections in Wales to this Assembly and I believe that we need to develop a new relationship between the Assembly and the regulators of those elections, namely the Electoral Commission, before the next Assembly election. I believe that the majority of Members share that opinion. Section 27 of the Bill prepares the way for this new relationship. As Members know, I explained that I foresaw that the Counsel General would table amendments to this section. The Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee is not content with this approach. In the same way, the Finance Committee also asks that draft amendments are tabled before Stage 2 discussions. I understand that this isn't all ideal. I would have preferred to include proposals that are fully formed as we tabled the Bill, but that wasn't possible at the time because delay would have meant losing the opportunity to make important constitutional changes by the time of the next Assembly elections in 2021, such as, in particular, lowering the voting age.

The Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee recommended that we should continue with this work through the local government Bill instead. I've discussed this with the Counsel General, and it seems that the Senedd and elections Bill is the most appropriate legislative medium for achieving this change in time for the 2021 elections.

I have had constructive discussions with the Counsel General in terms of what additional information the Welsh Government can share before we start the Stage 2 debate in response to recommendations made by the Finance Committee. I've explained to the committee my rationale for ensuring that the Electoral Commission should be accountable to a new committee chaired by the Llywydd. I know that other institutions in Wales funded directly from the Welsh consolidated fund are accountable to the Finance Committee, and I appreciate the concerns of the Finance Committee about this different arrangement for the Electoral Commission. But to ensure consistency with arrangements in the rest of the United Kingdom, and according to the wishes of the Electoral Commission itself, I believe that establishing a new committee would be appropriate in this case.

If that were to happen, I would, of course, take steps to get to grips with some of the concerns expressed by the Finance Committee. For example, I suggest that the Chair of the Finance Committee should be a member of the new committee to give the Finance Committee a voice as we scrutinise the work of the Electoral Commission and to ensure consistency with the statement of principles made by the Finance Committee. I've started discussing this with the Chair of the Finance Committee, and I look forward to discussions during Stage 2.

Moving to the section on disqualification: at the heart of this section is the principle that we should allow as many people as possible to stand in elections, and I was pleased to see the support of the committees for these aspects of the Bill and I will consider the specific points that they have made.

The Bill also includes provision to enable Welsh Ministers to implement recommendations on reforming electoral law made by the Law Commission. Even though support was given to the principle of these kinds of amendments, concerns were expressed with regard to the way it would implement them. So, I've accepted that recommendation and will delete section 36.

Now, I believe that the reforms in this Bill are important to strengthen democratic engagement in Wales and make operational changes to our national Senedd. Taken together, they contribute to creating a Parliament for Wales that is fit for purpose for the next 20 years and beyond, and I look forward this afternoon to hearing the opinions of my fellow Members.