Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I move the motion. As Members may recall, we made emergency regulations last year to allow local government bodies to meet remotely and publish meeting documents electronically. These bodies would not otherwise have been able to meet legally or safely, or continue their business during the pandemic. 

Warmly welcomed by stakeholders, these regulations have also allowed bodies to work more flexibly and efficiently, and decision-making processes have been made accessible to a much wider audience. Some bodies have actually reported increased attendance at meetings. However, these emergency regulations are time limited and only apply to meetings until the end of April. Government amendments to the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 made permanent provision enabling local authority meetings to be held entirely remotely and providing for the electronic publication of notices of meetings and other meeting documents. I intend to bring these provisions into force on 1 May. Local government bodies in Wales will have clarity as to how they will be holding their meetings and conducting their business once the emergency regulations cease to have effect, and this would also bring meeting procedures into the twenty-first century. The regulations before you today will ensure that the necessary consequential amendments are made so that existing related legislation accurately reflects the legislative changes resulting from these reforms.

The regulations also address an anomaly from the emergency regulations. Currently, any documents published electronically under those regulations, which relate to a meeting held between 22 April 2020 and 30 April 2021, or to an executive decision taken during that period, must be made accessible electronically indefinitely. These regulations will limit this requirement to six years from the date of the meeting or decision, which is consistent with the retention periods provided for in the permanent provisions set out in the 2021 Act. This will ensure a proportionate approach that balances public accessibility with administrative burdens on authorities.

I should also inform Members that there are two minor technical changes to the drafting of the regulations since they were laid in draft, in the form of a minor correction to a footnote and the insertion of the year in the title of an enactment. Diolch.