I'll return, therefore, to the committee recommendation. The Commission has considered whether the Senedd and elections Bill, which is currently being considered by the Assembly, would be a suitable legislative vehicle for any proposals by the Welsh Government, and has come to the conclusion that the Bill would not be a suitable legislative vehicle, in our view at present. The Commission strongly agrees with the view of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee that granting voting rights to prisoners would amount to a significant change to the electoral franchise and any provisions to affect such a change should be included in a Bill when it’s introduced, rather than inserted through amendments. Although the inquiry into prisoners' voting rights undertaken by the committee has considered this policy issue in detail, the Commission agrees with the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee that this cannot be the equivalent of scrutiny of a Bill at Stage 1. As such, the Commission does not consider that amendments should be tabled to the Senedd and elections Bill to address this issue.

It’s also worthwhile clarifying the remit of the Assembly Commission in relation to electoral matters. The Assembly, of course, has given the Commission a mandate to introduce legislation to lower the voting age for Assembly elections. However, the Welsh Government retains responsibility for all devolved elections in Wales and a vote for prisoners is also a more complex issue than giving the right to 16 and 17-year-olds to vote, and for these reasons we believe that the development of any legislative proposals in relation to prisoners' voting rights for Assembly elections, and the responsibility for responding to most of the committee's recommendations, is a matter for the Welsh Ministers.

To close, therefore, I’d like to thank the committee for undertaking this detailed inquiry. Without a doubt, it’s a very important contribution on this fundamental question, which relates to constitutional issues and human rights issues that the Assembly and the Welsh Government will address in due course.