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.