Llywydd, when some 50 per cent of the population fail to vote in our elections regularly or at all, I suggest that the democratic health of our country is not good. There is no silver-bullet solution to this long-standing decline in civic participation, but I do not believe that looking for ways to put obstacles in the way of people being able to participate is the way forward. The Welsh Government does not, therefore, intend to follow the direction of the UK Government in its Elections Bill. Instead, we intend to adopt a very different approach, an approach that will lead to the development of a modern electoral system fit for the twenty-first century.

The Welsh Government is committed to inclusive and accessible voting in elections and wants to encourage participation in devolved elections in Wales. This new Senedd term provides an opportunity to set out an ambitious programme to increase Welsh democratic engagement, and part of this will be exploring the ways in which we can re-engage the electorate through new and accessible ways of registering and voting. And I'll discuss these in greater detail shortly.

But first, as we in the Welsh Government and in the Senedd today consider and discuss the ways in which to maximise voter inclusion, accessibility and participation, I am concerned, as many others are, about the UK Government's proposals in its Elections Bill, which contains measures more akin to voter suppression than participation. This is especially the case in relation to the voter ID measures, for which there is no evidential base and which clearly disadvantages those who are less likely to have the required forms of ID that will be imposed. That is why we have been clear that we will not be introducing voter ID cards or similar measures in Wales for devolved elections. We also have similar concerns around the UK Government's proposals for accessing postal and proxy voting for reserved elections, which we will also not be supporting.

As I've said in this Chamber before, there is no evidential base for the introduction of these measures. For example, data from the Electoral Commission suggests that, in 2019, across the UK, there were 595 cases of alleged electoral fraud investigated by the police. Of those, only 142 cases were categorised under a voting category, only one individual was convicted of using someone else's vote at a polling station, and one individual received a caution for the same reason.

Llywydd, this debate is not the time to go into our concerns in more detail in respect of the UK Government's proposals. We have a separate process for considering legislative consent, but as set out in the motion for this debate today, we regret the UK Government's proposals. We believe the UK Government's approach risks denying the people of Wales their democratic rights and undermining democratic participation.

Llywydd, in July, I published a set of principles for electoral reform. These principles reflect the values of social justice, inclusivity and democracy in Wales. As outlined in the written statement, the principles include equality—every person that wishes to participate in the democracy must be enabled to do so in a safe and respectful environment; accessibility—changes to electoral systems and electoral law should be based on the principle of making voting and participation in democracy as accessible and convenient as possible, and other principles include participation—improving citizen experience, simplicity and integrity. The principles will be used to benchmark our Welsh electoral reform agenda and approach to supporting democratic engagement and participation. Progress has already been made towards delivering on these principles, for example, in franchising 16 and 17-year-olds and qualifying foreign citizens—people who contribute to our communities and our nation who deserve to have their voices heard in our democracy.

Members will also be aware that Wales's first set of electoral pilots will be taking place as part of next year's local government elections. These will look at increasing the opportunities for people to vote, reflecting people's busy lives. And I'm pleased to announce that this morning I laid a written statement providing Members with more detail on these pilots. We are working with the local authorities for Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly and Torfaen on a set of flexible voting pilots to test different forms of early voting. We have designed the pilots to provide evidence for the different types of early voting, whether at an existing polling station or a new central one, and opening these on different days. These include new polling stations being set up in a school and college to engage with newly-enfranchised voters. Each pilot will be different, helping us to see what works best in Wales. This will, in turn, inform our work on considering the ways to consolidate and codify electoral legislation in Wales, and to make it fully available in Welsh and English languages, and thereby improving the accessibility of Welsh electoral law. This approach will also provide an opportunity to digitise and modernise the electoral system in Wales, making it fit for the twenty-first century and ensuring that Senedd elections and local government elections in Wales are as inclusive as possible. We will be considering our own proposals for how to achieve this, and I look forward to working with colleagues in the Senedd in due course. Dirprwy Lywydd, we will not be supporting the Conservative amendment. Diolch.