I outlined at Stage 2 that legislative proposals to lower the voting age had been a long time coming. Through a series of votes in this Chamber since May 2013, I feel that we are now committed to the young people of Wales to give the vote to those of 16 and 17 years of age by 2021, and that we do now have to achieve that on their behalf. In October of last year, you'll remember that the Assembly agreed to allow the Assembly Commission to introduce this Bill that would extend the franchise for Assembly elections to those of 16 and 17 years of age.

This is not to say that I don't recognise some of the concerns that Members have expressed about some of these proposals. One concern that was raised by Members in Stage 2, and we've heard it again this afternoon, was the inconsistencies in the different ages that we associate with adulthood. In response to this, it's worth reiterating, perhaps, that the expert panel had concluded that there simply isn't a single age at which a young person takes on the responsibilities and rights of an adult citizen. Darren Millar was right in one regard: from birth, all of us are eligible to pay certain taxes, and we can be held criminally responsible at the age of 10. At 16, we can change our names and, at 17, we can hold a licence to drive a car. This makes comparisons between the ages associated with different responsibilities a subjective process. For instance, one of the concerns raised at Stage 2, and again by Darren Millar this afternoon, was that a 16-year-old will be able to vote under this legislation but will not be able to enter a tanning booth or to buy alcohol until they're 18 years of age. However, public health arguments are what underpin setting the age at 18, not to permit anybody from going into tanning booths or to buy alcohol. They're not arguments that relate to an individual's rights as a citizen, and so they are very different in nature.