I thank the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee and the Local Government and Housing Committee for the helpful points raised in their reports. They'll be pleased to hear of our constructive engagement with the UK Government and the significant progress that has been achieved.

Before I provide Members with further detail on what has been achieved, may I remind Members of the Welsh Government's approach to electoral reform, contained in the principles for electoral reform, published last July? They are principles that are founded in the values of social justice and democracy and the promotion of equality, accessibility and simplicity. We regret that the UK Government does not share our priorities.

We've made important progress towards delivering on these principles. Last year, we enfranchised 16 and 17-year-olds and also qualifying foreign citizens—those people who contribute so much to our communities and our nation and who deserve to have their voices heard in Wales, if not in England. We're also building on this by working with local authorities, education and third sector partners on a comprehensive engagement and awareness-raising campaign ahead of the May elections. Last week's voter registration day encouraged newly enfranchised young people to register to vote and to influence the things that matter to them. And Orders came into force last week to enable advanced voting pilots to take place in Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly and Torfaen, giving people flexibility on when and where they can vote in the May elections. We are grateful to local government partners for helping elections in Wales to be as accessible as possible, reducing the democratic deficit.

Now, Members will know that in the original legislative consent memorandum laid on 9 September 2021, I could not recommend consent to the Bill. I had concerns that the Bill, as drafted, would adversely impact on devolved competence. Like many of us in this Siambr, I do not agree with the Bill, however, I am pleased to report that the Bill now better recognises devolved powers. With the exception of two areas relating to the offence of intimidation and digital imprints, Wales has effectively been carved out of the Bill in respect of devolved elections. I can therefore recommend consent, as set out in the supplementary memorandum, laid on 22 March.

As a consequence of our discussions, the UK Government has now recognised our key areas of concerns, set out in the original legislative consent memorandum—concerns also shared by the committees and noted in their reports. Voter ID proposals will not apply to the Senedd and council elections. Provisions enabling the Secretary of State to direct the Electoral Commission in the discharge of its Welsh functions have been removed by amendments that were tabled on 28 February and agreed at the House of Lords Committee Stage, as have proposals regarding undue influence, notional expenditure and other political finance. An outline of the relevant amendments can be found in paragraphs 17 to 29 of the supplementary memorandum.

There remains a difference of opinion between the Welsh Government and the UK Government on certain issues relating to digital imprints and the offence of intimidation. However, these relate to competence rather than the policy intent. The policy on digital imprints concerns electoral transparency. For devolved elections, this falls within devolved competence and requires Senedd consent. We agree that it's important to protect participants in the democratic process, and therefore we are not opposed in principle to the provisions on intimidation. However, I'm sure Members will agree that every legislature should be free to determine the disqualification regime for elections it is responsible for.

To repeat, I maintain my opposition to the Bill, which I believe is unnecessary and which is more about voter suppression and enabling foreign funding than enhancing electoral democracy and integrity. But I am satisfied that the changes we have secured for Wales, in accordance with the Sewel convention, with the exception of the two areas of disagreement on competence—. We are satisfied that the substantive elements of the Bill will not now impact on matters within the Senedd's competence. I remain firmly of the view that we are free to consider these issues further in consultation with stakeholders in Wales, and we plan to look at them again when we move forward with our own electoral reform legislation. I am now satisfied that the Senedd can give its consent to the Bill. Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd.