Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:20 pm on 17 November 2020.
There was a delay in the sign coming up. Diolch, Llywydd. The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee considered the Order at our meeting on 19 October and our report contains only one merits point. As the Minister has outlined, the Order makes amendments to three items of election-related legislation. The amendments being made have the effect of exempting expenses relating to a candidate's disability, as she indicated, from a candidate's election expenses, for local government and for Senedd elections. The amendments also have the effect of excluding the costs incurred by or attributable to the translation of anything from English to Welsh, or vice versa, from both the candidate's expenses and a political party's campaign expenditure limits. This is in accordance with the principle that Welsh should be treated no less favourably than English, as provided by the Welsh Language Act 1993. Our merits point, a reporting point, noted the range of consultation undertaken by the Welsh Government on this Order, in particular the Government's consultation with the Electoral Commission. Diolch, Llywydd.