Item 9 is the Senedd Cymru (Disqualification) Order 2020, and I call on the First Minister to move the motion. Mark Drakeford.

Motion NDM7436 Rebecca Evans

To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5:

1. Approves that the draft The Senedd Cymru (Disqualification) Order 2020 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 29 September 2020.

Motion moved.

Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd dros dro. Members will have heard Government Ministers say in the Senedd that we will do everything we can to ensure that the Senedd elections can take place in May of next year despite the challenges that may arise from the pandemic. Today, in front of the Senedd, there is enabling legislation to allow the elections to take place. The purpose of the Senedd Cymru (Disqualification) Order 2020 is to list offices that, if held by an individual, would disqualify that individual from becoming a Member of the Senedd.

The proposals come in front of Members as a result of consultation, held for 10 weeks and which closed on 1 September. That consultation was rooted in the work on this matter by the then Constitutional and Legislative Affairs committee, which undertook an inquiry into this area of disqualification in 2014, and the current committee quite rightly draws attention to that work. The disqualification Order continues to build on the recommendations set out in that 2014 report and the criteria used for determining offices and membership of bodies for inclusion in the Order are based on the principles set out in the first recommendation of that report. As a result of the consultation, a number of offices have been added to the disqualification Order list. There were no objections on the part of those bodies to their inclusion. One body, which had since ceased to exist, has been removed from the Order.

The basis of the proposal in front of the Senedd this afternoon therefore allows for May's elections to be conducted in this area. The criteria uphold the principles of democratic participation and the right to stand as a Member of the Senedd. Only such offices and posts that are of a nature that needs to be politically impartial or would give rise to a significant conflict of interest are listed in the disqualification Order before Members this afternoon. I invite the Senedd to endorse the proposals.

I call the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, Mick Antoniw.

Diolch, acting Llywydd. We considered the draft Order at our meeting last week. As always, our report is available to Members via today's agenda, and Members will see that our report contains two merits points. The first merits point highlights the work of our predecessor committee, as the First Minister has already mentioned—a fact that is also acknowledged in the explanatory memorandum that accompanies the draft Order. The memorandum highlights that in 2014, the fourth Assembly's Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee carried out an inquiry into the rules regarding disqualification from membership of the Senedd. That report made 21 recommendations to the Welsh Government and proposed an overhaul of the legislative framework surrounding disqualifications from membership of the Senedd. In response to that report, the Welsh Government made a commitment to consult on the National Assembly for Wales (Disqualification) Order 2015, and by consulting on this draft Order, 2020, we noted that it is continuing to honour that commitment. The criteria for determining which offices were to be included in the National Assembly for Wales (Disqualification) Order 2015 were based on the principles set out in the fourth Assembly Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee's report, with some additional considerations by the Welsh Government. We have noted that this same criteria has continued to be used for the draft Order. Our second merits point notes the Welsh Government consultation that was carried out on the draft Order during the summer and the subsequent new offices that have been added to the draft Order as disqualified offices. These new disqualified offices include the secretary of the Boundary Commission for Wales, the Information Commissioner, the commissioners and non-executive board members of the Law Commission, commissioners of the Judicial Appointments Commission, and the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman. Diolch, acting Llywydd.

Thank you. I don't have any Members indicating they wish to speak. First Minister, I don't know if you've got anything further to add, given what the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee has reported on.

Simply to thank the Chair of the committee and all those who responded to the consultation, and to inform the Senedd that if today's motion is agreed, the Order can be submitted to be made bilingually at the November meeting of the Privy Council, with a proposed coming-into-force date of 12 November.

Thank you, First Minister. The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? I see no Member objecting. The motion is therefore agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.