, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
Based upon what we've—
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
I'll ask this question now: we are now operating that the Bill—and that's what we're looking at—is using these 32 constituencies that are now in place for Westminster, and they will be combining those, at this point in time. I'll take my own as an example…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
Okay. Heledd.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
So, it's another natural progression.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
Have you had those discussions with the Government yet?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
Can I ask, then, before I go back to Heledd: you talked about the renaming and the wording we use—who should be making those decisions? Should it be Government, with your advice, or should the Government be looking at perhaps asking you to give the names?…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
Sarah.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
Okay. Heledd.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session with the Welsh Language Commissioner
Can I welcome Members and the public back to our meeting today? We now enter our last evidence session for the day, and can I welcome Efa Gruffudd Jones, the Welsh Language Commissioner, and Lowri Williams, who's the strategic director of the office of the…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
Well, sometimes it is, sometimes it might not be. Can I, therefore, thank you both for this afternoon's evidence? You will both receive a transcript of the session and, if there are any factual inaccuracies, can you please let the clerking teams know as soon…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
Yes.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
I'm going to have to come to an end now, because our session is coming to a close, and I know that Professor Henderson—
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
Okay. Thank you. Darren.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
And therefore, are you seeing a difference between the STV in local elections, compared to the additional members in Scottish Parliament elections?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
And Malcolm, I've got one question for you in the sense of the way in which the elections have occurred. Rejected ballot papers: I understand that that perhaps has increased under the new systems. Do we have any confirmation of that, and, if so, do we have…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
It's an interesting point you made there, because—. So, we, as a committee, we will need to look at when that particular Bill might be enacted and when the automatic registration comes in, with regard to when a review might take place. Because that's going to…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
Yes. Because we currently have names, because we do have those who are due to become of age within the electoral period.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
He's still on. It's the screen that's playing up.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
I'll come back. I think you talked about the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill that you'll be coming to talk to us about. It's just the committee of ours that will be looking at that Bill, but there are implications, as you highlighted, of automatic…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
Okay, thank you. Heledd.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
What would you consider the minimum timescale that would be required if such changes happen?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
It's interesting what you said there, because at the moment, we're talking about coterminous, in a sense—two constituencies within. They are going to be parliamentary constituencies for Westminster, but there's a possibility that that will vary down the line…
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
Before I move on, Malcolm, do you have a view on the implications of boundary changes for the management of the elections and how the type of time cycle we're talking about allows you and the electoral registration officers to be able to deliver that change?
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
Okay, thank you. Sarah.
, Reform Bill Committee
Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Bill: Evidence session on the electoral and boundary reform experience in Scotland
So, that variation is at local authority level and not at the Scottish Parliament level.
