Diolch, Llywydd. I'm very pleased to open this debate on the general principles and financial resolution of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill, which I introduced in November. It is most definitely true that this debate is taking place in unprecedented times, and I am grateful to Members for recognising that, whilst there are significant challenges at the moment, we must always have an eye to the future. 

I am grateful to John Griffiths, Llyr Gruffydd, Mick Antoniw and the members of their respective committees for their thorough and constructive approach to scrutiny of the Bill and their subsequent reports and recommendations. I wrote to all three committees on 23 March setting out my thoughts in response to their comments and recommendations. I will not, therefore, attempt to address each of the almost 60 recommendations in the time we have this afternoon, but I will reflect on Members' comments if and when we move towards Stage 2. 

When introducing the Bill, I said the provisions had been subject to extensive consultation. This is acknowledged by the committees. I am very grateful to all the stakeholders who have contributed and worked with us over the years on developing the proposals in the Bill. This includes the members of the working group on local government and the subsequent sub-group of the partnership council who have shaped the Bill and are helping to co-produce the guidance and regulatory arrangements created by the Bill. I am also grateful to the organisations and individuals who provided oral and written evidence during this scrutiny stage.  

The Bill contains provisions to enable electoral reform and establishes a new governance framework for local government. I am pleased that stakeholders are generally supportive of the Bill's provisions, as are the committees. I am, therefore, delighted that the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee recommended that the Senedd agrees the general principles of the Bill. 

Turning then to the detail of the Bill, I am pleased the majority of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee's members supported the extension of the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds and foreign citizens legally resident in Wales. I am also pleased the committee supports our view that each principal council is best placed to decide for themselves which voting system better suits the needs of their local people and communities.

I note all the committee's views on the proposed Stage 2 amendments that would allow prisoners and young people in custody from Wales serving sentences of less than four years to vote in local government elections in Wales. I will not repeat the reasons for introducing provisions on prisoner voting at Stage 2, but rest assured I have carefully considered all the points made by the committees on these provisions. Unfortunately, Llywydd, I've had to take the decision, as part of the Welsh Government's wider consideration of its legislative programme at the start of our planning for coping with the grave circumstances we are in, not to commit any future official resource to this proposed Stage 2 amendment. 

Llywydd, Members, I am sure, will be aware that today's debate will, if the motion is passed, allow us to continue to include future work on the Bill in our planning for matters that we will want to be ready to progress once the crisis that we now face has passed. I know many Members support the Bill and its policy objectives, and passing this motion today will allow us to plan future resources to work on those shared policy objectives. 

Turning then to the non-election parts of the Bill, local government have been calling for a general power of competence for many years. The Welsh Government will continue to work closely with local government and stakeholders to identify where additional powers or flexibilities have been helpful to them in achieving their objectives. 

I accept the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee's recommendations regarding the duty to encourage participation in decision making in connected bodies. I therefore intend to bring forward an amendment removing the concept of connected authorities at Stage 2.

I acknowledge the Finance Committee's concerns, based on those of local government, around the cost and practicalities of the broadcasting provisions. I think we share a common interest in making the provisions work in the most sensible and pragmatic way. A working group has been established with the WLGA to consider these issues and to identify how best the regulation-making power these provisions contains can be used to exclude certain council meetings from the requirement to broadcast. 

I accept the committee's recommendation 19 in relation to the poor performance management of chief executives, and the Welsh Government is working with Solace and ALACE on a revised approach.

The committee makes a number of recommendations in relation to job sharing. I am committed to enabling flexible arrangements where possible within a principal council, and we are continuing to work with partners to consider the implications of expansion in this area and what action and guidance might be required.

Corporate joint committees will provide local authorities in Wales with a consistent mechanism established in statute for regional collaboration. I welcome the committee's comments on our proposals. As highlighted in the Finance Committee's report, I am happy to commit to providing full and robust regulatory impact assessments for each piece of subordinate legislation made as a result of this Bill. This is the best place to assess their specific costs and benefits.

I welcome the degree of consensus amongst those giving evidence on the need for and appropriateness of the provisions in the Bill that will introduce a new system for improving performance and governance based on self-assessment and peer review. As recommended by the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, I intend to bring forward an amendment to include a provision in the Bill that clarifies the timing of a self-assessment report.

I'm also pleased to announce today that I have published guidance: a prospectus for the voluntary merger of principal councils in Wales. The guidance was prepared by the working group on local government. It provides practical advice on the core issues that will need to be addressed as part of developing any proposal for a voluntary merger.

We have been working closely with the Welsh Local Government Association, local authorities and advice services to improve all aspects of council tax collection and the management of arrears. This work, which is focused on prevention, will continue.

The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee have made a number of recommendations about the proposed procedures for the exercise of subordinate legislative and other delegated powers in the Bill. It has not been possible for me to accept all of the committee's recommendations in full, and I set out my reason in my written response to the committee's report.

I note and accept in principle the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee's recommendation 32. I have committed to using the guidance on performance and governance in the Bill to highlight the importance of housing considerations in the discharge of local authority functions as an example of where councils should be striving to do better and not just meeting minimum requirements. This will ensure the provision of housing is considered alongside the range of powers and duties that councils have as part of a wider corporate assessment of the overall performance of the council, rather than in isolation.

In conclusion, this Bill provides the powers and tools local government have been asking for. It will enable them to deliver modern, accessible, high-quality public services for and with the communities that they serve. I do urge Members to agree the general principles and the financial resolution of the Bill today. Diolch, Llywydd.