As I've previously stated, it is not the Welsh Government's intention to delay the Senedd election. This is a fail-safe to be used only where it is deemed absolutely necessary to protect public health from the risks posed by the coronavirus—a fail-safe we hope never to have to use. However, as a responsible Government we have to make preparations that allow us to respond to the risks posed by the pandemic to the safety and fairness of the election. I thank Members for their contributions in this debate and I will try and address as many of them as I can.

Starting with Mark Isherwood, I'm afraid I think it's a bit rich to be saying, 'Why are we in this position?' given the previous opposition of his party, before Christmas, to any suggestion whatsoever of a postponement. I also would like to point out that the UK pushes through legislation to postpone elections in England in a day if necessary. They did exactly that with the future relationship Act, which dealt with the little matter of the most important international treaty the UK has ever signed in nearly 50 years—in a single day. So, I will not be taking any lessons from him about the need to be respectful of the need for scrutiny in a legislature. The issue he raised about a potential conflict of interest from the First Minister is of course addressed by the primacy of the Llywydd and the role of the Senedd in this Bill, which is what I pointed out in my opening remarks. We need the regulation-making powers to deal with the postal votes already cast and other matters of that sort, which a number of Members have raised.

In response to a number of people, including Rhun ap Iorwerth, who asked, we will of course lay our formal response to the committee's report tomorrow, but I was pleased to be able to address some of the issues in my opening remarks. Also, on the pre-election guidance, we appreciate that this is a very different situation to usual, but we will be publishing it as soon as possible for Members to be able to see that. We are working very closely with the Business Committee, because we will want to make sure that the Senedd Commission side and the Government side rules match up and are as clear and as user-friendly as possible. I'm also very happy to accede to Rhun's suggestion that we give regular updates on the progression of our work on this matter.

This Bill acts as a vital contingency measure in our preparation for May's elections. It's our sincere hope and aim that the election goes ahead as planned, and that the people of Wales are able to vote freely and safely on 6 May. We're preparing on that basis and our partners are, too. But of course we would be remiss not to recognise that the course of this pandemic has not been smooth, and it is right that we, as a responsible Government, should put in place a contingency plan, even if it is one that we hope never to use.

In terms of the number of people who asked me what circumstances we would expect to weigh up in terms of making that decision, there are an enormous range of factors to be taken into account. A number of Members have mentioned them, in fact—the public health situation, the confidence of the administration of the election, its effect on voters. We're not specifying those metrics, because the situation continues to be as fast-moving as it ever has been in this pandemic. Clearly, the closer we get to the election, the greater the risks in terms of costs, practical implications, voter confusion and so on, and so ideally we would want to make a timely decision.

It is important that the Senedd can respond close to the date of the poll too, if necessary, given how quickly the pandemic situation can change. All of us here have lived through rapid changes over a number of days, sometimes, in the course of the pandemic. A number of Members have mentioned, for example, that the figures are dropping all over Wales, and that we're very grateful to see that, but Members will have remembered other times in the pandemic where figures appeared to be dropping, and then suddenly reverse overnight because a new variant arises or some other factor that we have yet to think of. So, I think it would be very remiss to try and hedge that in. Llywydd, if I could quote it, and unfortunately I can't, I would pray in aid a certain Donald Rumsfeld, and talk about the unknown unknowns that we would have to deal with in this pandemic going forward.

I'm very grateful to Members for their contributions today. I do urge them to vote in favour of this Bill and, of course, of the financial resolution. Diolch yn fawr.