Part 2 Elected Bodies and Their Members
Chapter 1: Arrangements for Local Government
Section 40 – Considerations for a review of principal area electoral arrangements
108.Section 40 substitutes section 30(1) of the 2013 Act and sets out revised considerations for a review of principal area electoral arrangements. The matters which must be considered include the desirability of having a ratio of local government electors to the number of members that is the same or as similar as possible in every electoral ward of the principal area, the geographical size, shape and accessibility of an electoral ward and maintaining local ties including those connected to the use of the Welsh language.
Section 41 - Review period for principal area reviews
109.Section 41 amends section 29 of the 2013 Act by changing the length of the cycle of reviews of electoral arrangements for principal areas from 10 to 12 years and resetting the start date for the cycles as 30 September 2023. The amendment also enables the Welsh Ministers to amend both the length of the cycle and the re-set date by regulations.
Section 42 – Review of seaward boundaries
110.Section 42 amends section 28 of the 2013 Act to clarify that the Commission is able to review the seaward boundaries of more than one local government area when it is conducting a review under section 28.
Section 43 – Electoral review recommendations and decisions: duty to have regard to representations
111.Section 43 amends section 37 of the 2013 Act to clarify that the Welsh Ministers cannot implement any recommendation or decide to take no action on recommendations in relation to an electoral review until a minimum of six weeks have elapsed beginning with the day on which the Welsh Ministers receive the review recommendations. Also, when the Welsh Ministers are considering a final report of an electoral arrangements review, they must have regard to any representations made to them during the six week ‘representation’ period.
112.This section also makes similar amendments to sections 38 and 39 of the 2013 Act in relation to the functions exercised by the Commission in respect of reports on community boundary changes and functions exercised by county or county borough councils in respect of community electoral arrangements.
Section 44 – Names of electoral wards
113.Section 44 requires the Commission and county or county borough council to consider the naming of electoral wards as part of its pre-review consultation procedure.
114.It inserts section 36A into the 2013 Act which requires the Commission and county or county borough councils (as the case may be) to, in the case of electoral wards that have different names for the purposes of identifying the wards in communication through Welsh and English, specify the Welsh and English language names or proposed names of the electoral wards in both the Welsh and English language versions of their draft and further review reports.
115.Regard must be taken of representations made by the Welsh Language Commissioner as to the orthography of electoral ward names, which may include monolingual electoral ward names.
Section 45 – Consultation on reviews
116.Section 45 amends section 34 of the 2013 Act to require the Commission, or as the case may be, a county or county borough council before conducting a review, to bring that review to the attention of members of the public affected by the review.
117.It makes similar amendments to section 35 of the 2013 Act to require the Commission, or as the case may be, a county or county borough council to consult members of the public affected by the review when conducting a review. The Commission or county or county borough council must publicise the fact that representations may be made during the public consultation period and indicate when the public consultation period begins and ends. This section also amends section 36 of the 2013 Act to refer back to the ‘public consultation period’ defined in section 35(4) of the 2013 Act.
Section 46 – Meaning of “mandatory consultees” in Part 3 of the 2013 Act
118.Section 46 amends section 34(3) of the 2013 Act by adding National Park authorities, Port Health authorities and the Welsh Language Commissioner to the list of bodies that must be consulted in relation to a review under Part 3 of the 2013 Act.
Section 47 – Electoral review recommendations and decisions: period before a local election
119.Section 47 amends section 29(8) of the 2013 Act to change the period during which the Commission must not make or publish any recommendations relating to the electoral arrangements of a county or county borough council from 9 to 12 months.
120.It also amends section 37 of the 2013 Act to prohibit the Welsh Ministers from exercising their functions under section 37(1) in the six months preceding an ordinary local government election (this is the election to all seats in all councils held once every five years).
Section 48 – Deadline for completion of reviews
121.Section 48 amends the 2013 Act by the insertion of a new section 36B. This requires the Commission or a county or county borough council (as the case may be) to publish a statement specifying the day on which a review begins and requires the Commission or a county or county borough council to use its best endeavours to publish its further reports within the deadlines as specified. Failure to meet the timetable does not invalidate the review. The timetable for reviews of principal area boundaries, preserved counties and electoral arrangements for a principal area should be no more than 12 months in length, the timetable for reviews of seaward boundaries should be no more than 18 months in length and for community boundary reviews and community electoral arrangements reviews it should be no more than 24 months in length
Section 49 – Deadline for the completion of implementation
122.Section 49 amends section 37 of the 2013 Act by requiring the Welsh Ministers to use their best endeavours to make a decision on each review recommendation they receive under section 37(1) of the 2013 Act within three months of receipt of the recommendations. The Welsh Ministers must also publish a statement setting out their decision in respect of each recommendation. The date of the publication of the statement is to be treated as the date of the decision. Failure to comply with this duty does not invalidate any order or decision.
123.Sections 38 and 39 of the 2013 Act are amended to place a similar duty on the Commission in relation to its decision making on the recommendations it receives from county or county borough councils in respect of community boundary changes and on county or county borough councils in respect of community electoral arrangements.
Section 50 – Directions to pause reviews
124.Section 50 amends section 48 of the 2013 Act to enable the Welsh Ministers to issue a direction to pause a review being conducted under Part 3 of the 2013 Act. The Welsh Ministers must not use this power to pause a review for a period greater than 9 months in total. When a review is paused, the period of the pause is not to be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the length of periods under section 36B(2) to (5).
Section 51 – Community reviews and implementation
125.Section 51 amends section 22 of the 2013 Act to require county or county borough councils to publish an annual report by no later than 1 July each year on the performance of its functions under Part 3 of the 2013 Act and section 76 of the Local Government Act 1972. This report should explain the performance of its functions so far as the functions relate to community names, community boundary changes, community council changes and community electoral arrangements during the year. A copy of the report must be sent to the Commission and the Welsh Ministers.
126.This section also amends section 31 of the 2013 Act to clarify the duty of a county or county borough council to conduct a review of the electoral arrangements for each community in its area at least once in every review period (12 years). The Welsh Ministers may make regulations to amend the length and start date of the review period.
127.This section also amends section 33(3) of the 2013 Act to require that county or county borough councils take account of special geographical considerations, in particular, the size, shape and accessibility of a community ward together with any local ties connected to the use of the Welsh language when conducting a review of community electoral arrangements.
Section 52 – Notice of resolutions of status of communities as towns
128.Section 52 amends section 245B of the Local Government Act 1972 to require a community council to give electronic notice of any resolution it passes under section 245B(1) or (6) (community to have the status, or to cease to have the status, of a town) to the Welsh Ministers, the relevant county or county borough council and the Commission.
Section 53 – Publication of orders under Part 3 of the 2013 Act
129.Section 53 amends the 2013 Act by the insertion of section 49ZA. This requires county or county borough councils and the Commission to publish on their websites copies of all the orders they make under Part 3 of the 2013 Act and also those that are made by other bodies able to make orders under the same Part. In the case of the latter, county or county borough councils are required only to publish those orders that are relevant to their area.
130.The section also requires whichever body has made an order under Part 3 of the 2013 Act to send a copy of that order to, or to notify the other bodies that are able to make orders under Part 3, of the making of that order.
131.This requirement applies only to orders made after the coming into force of section 49ZA.
Section 54 – Publication of up-to-date lists of communities and community councils
132.Section 54 amends the 2013 Act by the insertion of section 49ZB. This requires each county or county borough council to publish and maintain on its website an up-to-date list of all the communities and community councils in its area with their current names. It also requires the Commission to do the same for all of the communities and community councils in Wales. In respect of communities and community councils that have names for the purpose of communication through Welsh and English, the list should show both the Welsh and English language names regardless of whether the list is accessed via the Welsh or English language.
Section 55 – Transitional provision
133.Section 55 enables any review conducted under Part 3 of the 2013 Act being conducted when Chapter 1 comes into force to be completed under the arrangements that applied when the review was commenced. It also ensures that Part 3 of the 2013 Act and all orders and regulations made under that Part prior to Chapter 1 coming into force continue in effect for the purposes of such reviews.
Chapter 2: Remuneration of Elected Members
Section 56 – Abolition of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales
134.Section 56 abolishes the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales and removes provisions relating to its functions and membership from the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011.
Section 57 – Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru functions relating to remuneration
135.Section 57 inserts Part 5A into the 2013 Act which sets out the functions of the Commission in respect of payments and pensions to members of relevant authorities in Wales (as defined in new section 69C(2) of the 2013 Act) and payments to former members of local authorities in Wales. Part 5A includes the following provisions:
Section 69A – Function relating to payments to members
136.Section 69A sets out the functions of the Commission in respect of payments to members of a relevant authority. For the financial year beginning 1 April 2025 and for each following financial year, the Commission must decide the relevant matters for which a relevant authority is required or is authorised to make payments to members of the authority.
137.“Relevant matters” are defined in subsection (2) as matters that relate to the official business of members (as defined in section 69A(11)) or periods of family absence that members are entitled to have under Part 2 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011.
138.Subsection (3) requires the Commission to set the amount that must be paid to a member or the maximum amount that can be paid to a member. The Commission may decide that payments cannot be paid to more than a fixed proportion or specified number of members of a relevant authority. The proportion or number (as the case may be) cannot exceed 50% unless the Welsh Ministers give their consent.
139.The Commission may set the maximum percentage or other rate by which a relevant authority can adjust for a financial year the amounts that had effect in respect of relevant matters for the previous financial year. An index can also be set.
140.The Commission must, when setting an amount, making a determination or setting a rate or index, take into account the likely financial impact of its decisions on relevant authorities.
Section 69B – Functions relating to members’ pensions
141.Section 69B requires the Commission to decide the descriptions of members of a relevant authority in respect of whom a relevant authority is required to pay a pension. This excludes co-opted members of relevant authorities who are eligible to be members of the Local Government Pension Scheme. The Commission must also decide the relevant matters in respect of which a relevant authority is required to pay a pension.
Section 69C – Relevant authorities, members etc.
142.Section 69C defines certain terms used in Part 5A of the 2013 Act, including “relevant authority” and “members of a relevant authority” and also includes a power to specify a relevant authority in regulations under subsection (2)(e).
Section 69D – Functions relating to resettlement payments
143.Section 69D requires the Commission to make certain decisions about resettlement payments. A resettlement payment is a payment to a person who ceases to be a member of a local authority at the end of their term of office, when in office was a member of a local authority (as defined in section 72 of the 2013 Act) of a description specified in regulations made by the Welsh Ministers, has stood for re-election for membership of the same authority and has not been returned to office at that election.
144.The Commission must decide matters such as the amount of a resettlement payment to be paid, the qualifying conditions for payment and the maximum amount to be paid. The Commission must consider the likely financial impact on local authorities and must review decisions in advance of each local government ordinary election beginning with the election that is to be held in May 2027.
Section 69E – Annual remuneration reports in relation to members of relevant authorities
145.Section 69E requires the Commission to prepare and publish an annual remuneration report about the exercise of its functions under Part 5A no later than 28 February in the financial year before the financial year to which the report relates or such later date as the Commission and the Welsh Ministers agree. The report must contain the information set out in the section.
Section 69F – Supplementary remuneration reports
146.Section 69F enables the Commission to prepare and publish one or more supplementary remuneration reports to its most recent annual remuneration report. The supplementary report may vary provision made in that annual remuneration report or make any provision the annual remuneration report could have made.
Section 69G – Further provision about annual reports and supplementary reports
147.Section 69G requires the Commission, before publishing an annual or supplementary remuneration report, to send a draft of that report to certain bodies and persons and publish the draft report as soon as practicable after sending it. When preparing an annual or supplementary remuneration report, the Commission must take into account the last annual remuneration report and any supplementary remuneration report and representations received about these reports and the draft reports.
Section 69H – Directions to reconsider draft reports
148.Section 69H enables the Welsh Ministers to direct the Commission to reconsider a provision of a draft annual or draft supplementary remuneration report. It sets out the information that must be specified in a direction, including the reason for giving the direction and a specified date for response. The Commission is not obliged to vary the draft report but must respond and include its rationale if it decides not to vary the draft report.
Section 69I – Commission’s publication and notification duties in relation to reports
149.Section 69I sets out duties in respect of publishing the annual and supplementary remuneration reports, including the requirement that the Commission allows a minimum period of eight weeks for consultation on a draft report before publishing a supplementary remuneration report and the requirement that the Commission publishes the remuneration reports on its website and in any other way the Commission considers appropriate.
Section 69J – Administrative requirements for relevant authorities in reports
150.Section 69J enables annual remuneration reports to require relevant authorities to put in place administrative systems to avoid the duplication of payments in respect of relevant matters and requests for payment in respect of the same relevant matters. These reports can also include the Commission’s requirements for keeping records of payments made under Part 5A.
Section 69K – Publicising requirements for relevant authorities in reports
151.Section 69K enables the Commission to set out in its annual remuneration report information which relevant authorities are required to publish.
Section 69L – Monitoring compliance with Commission’s requirements
152.Section 69L requires relevant authorities to comply with any requirement set out in an annual or supplementary remuneration report and enables the Commission to monitor the implementation and management of the payments made by relevant authorities. The Commission can require relevant authorities to provide it with information about matters including matters in connection with payments made in respect of relevant matters, relevant pensions, and resettlement payments. Relevant authorities must comply with any such requirement.
Section 69M – Directions to enforce compliance with Commission’s requirements
153.Section 69M enables the Welsh Ministers, if they are satisfied that an authority has failed to comply with a requirement in an annual or supplementary remuneration report, to give a direction requiring the authority to comply with that requirement. The section sets out the matters that must be specified in the direction.
Section 69N – Members wishing to forgo payments
154.Section 69N enables a person to waive their entitlement to payments, either in full or in part as that person determines. Since authorities are required to make certain payments to members, section 69N(2) enables authorities not to pay allowances in circumstances where a member has elected to forgo payment by notice in writing.
Section 69O – Withholding payments
155.Section 69O requires a relevant authority to withhold payments to a person who has been:
suspended from being a member (or partially suspended) by virtue of Part 3 of the Local Government Act 2000 or
prevented from acting as a member of a local authority in Wales under section 80A(6) of the Local Government Act 1972.
156.The section also enables the Welsh Ministers to issue directions to relevant authorities (following consultation with the Commission) to withhold payments in respect of the relevant matters specified in the direction or to not make a resettlement payment.
157.This section also enables relevant authorities to require a person to make repayments in certain circumstances and enables local authorities to recover payments in certain circumstances.
Section 69P – Guidance
158.Section 69P enables the Commission to issue guidance to relevant authorities about how to comply with requirements under Part 5A. It also enables the Welsh Ministers to issue guidance to the Commission about its functions under that Part. Relevant authorities or the Commission, as the case may be, are required to have regard to any guidance issued under this section.
Section 69Q – Directions under this Part
159.Section 69Q enables the Welsh Ministers to apply for a court order to enforce directions made under sections 69M and 69O and sets out that the power to issue directions under this Part does not limit the general power of the Welsh Ministers to direct the Commission under section 14 of the 2013 Act.
Section 69R – Power to modify provision
160.Section 69R enables the Welsh Ministers to modify Part 5A of the 2013 Act by regulations.
Section 58 – Transfer of property, rights and liabilities
161.This section provides that all property held by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales immediately before its abolition, and all rights and liabilities of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales that exist immediately before its abolition, transfer to the Commission.
Section 59 – Minor and consequential provision
162.This section introduces Part 4 of Schedule 1, which makes minor and consequential amendments that are consequential to sections 56 to 58 of the Act.
Section 60 – Savings
163.Section 60 saves the effect of the provisions repealed by section 56 for the purposes of the financial year beginning 1 April 2025 other than the references to the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales, which should be interpreted as references to the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru.
Chapter 3: Disqualification and Undue Influence
Section 61 – Disqualification from being a Member of the Senedd and a community councillor
164.Section 61 amends section 16(1) of GOWA 2006, which specifies the persons who are disqualified from becoming or continuing to be a member of the Senedd (but not from being a candidate to be a Member of the Senedd). It also repeals sections 17B, 17E and 17F of GOWA 2006 which provide for certain limited exceptions from disqualification from Membership of the Senedd by virtue of being a member of other elected bodies, and amends section 17D of GOWA 2006.
165.Section 16(1)(za) of GOWA 2006 provides that a person is disqualified from being a Member of the Senedd if the person is a member of the House of Commons. Section 17B of GOWA 2006 provides an exception from disqualification for a Member of the Senedd returned as a member of the House of Commons within 372 days of the expected day of the next general election of Members of the Senedd. Section 61(3) removes section 17B from GOWA 2006 so that the exception no longer applies.
166.Section 16(1)(zc) of GOWA 2006 provides that a person is disqualified from being a Member of the Senedd if the person is a member of the council of a county or county borough in Wales. Section 61(2)(b) extends this disqualification provision to a person who is a member of a community council in Wales, to bring the arrangements for community councillors (including town councillors) in Wales into line with the disqualification regime for principal councillors in Wales.
167.Section 17D of GOWA 2006 provides for an exception from disqualification for newly elected members for a certain period. A person returned as a Member at an election of the Senedd is not disqualified from being a Member of the Senedd by virtue of being a member of the council of a county or county borough in Wales until that person purports to take the oath of allegiance (or corresponding affirmation) under GOWA 2006. Also, a Member of the Senedd who is returned as a member of a council of a county or county borough in Wales is not disqualified from being a Member of the Senedd until that person makes a declaration of acceptance under the Local Government Act 1972. Section 61(4) amends section 17D so that they also apply where the person is, or is returned as, a member of a community council in Wales.
168.Section 17E of GOWA 2006 provides for a time limited exception from disqualification if a member of the council of a county or county borough in Wales is returned as a Member of the Senedd; and the expected day of the next ordinary election of members of the council is within 372 days of the return day. Section 61(5) removes section 17E of GOWA 2006 so that the exception no longer applies. Section 17F of GOWA 2006 provides for a time limited exception from disqualification if a Member of the Senedd was returned as a member of a council of a county or county borough in Wales and the expected day of the next general election to the Senedd is within 372 days of the return day. Section 61(6) removes section 17F of GOWA 2006 so that the exception no longer applies. Section 61(7) provides that these changes will take effect for the purposes of an election for the Senedd at which the poll is held on or after 6 April 2026.
Section 62 – Disqualification for corrupt or illegal practice: local government elections
169.Section 62 amends the law on disqualification for candidacy to and membership of local government in Wales. The section inserts subsection (ba) into section 80A(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 to close a gap in the disqualification regime by adding a new category of disqualified persons: persons who are not permitted to stand as a candidate or be a member of a district council in Northern Ireland.
Section 63 – Disqualification for corrupt or illegal practice: Senedd elections
170.Section 63 amends the law on disqualification for candidacy to and membership of the Senedd. The section inserts paragraph (5A) into Schedule 1A to GOWA 2006 to close a gap in the disqualification regime by adding a new category of disqualified persons: persons who are not permitted to stand as a candidate or be a member of a district council in Northern Ireland.
Section 64 – Undue Influence
171.Section 114A of the 1983 Act sets out the list of activities that may constitute the corrupt practice of undue influence.
172.Section 64(2) amends section 114A of the 1983 Act so that the description of the corrupt practice of undue influence that currently applies at local elections in England and Parliamentary elections also applies to local government elections in Wales. Section 64(3) omits references to Wales from section 115 so that the description of the corrupt practice of undue influence set out in section 115 of the 1983 Act no longer applies to elections to local government elections in Wales.
Section 65 – Political restriction of officers and staff
173.Section 65 amends the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to add that a person who holds a politically restricted post under a community council, corporate joint committee or a local authority in Great Britain is disqualified from becoming or remaining a member of a community council. The amendment further clarifies who is to be regarded as holding a politically restricted post under a community council. The amendment also extends to community councils, the provisions in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 concerning the granting and supervision of political restriction exemptions, the limitations on paid leave for undertaking local authority duties and the provisions in relation to conflicts of interest in staff negotiations.
Chapter 4: Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru
Section 66 - Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru: persons who may not be members etc.
174.Section 66 amends the 2013 Act by adding to the list of those who are excluded from being members of the Commission so as to ensure impartiality. Those added to the list are members of staff of a National Park authority for a National Park in Wales, members or members of staff of a corporate joint committee, and members or members of staff of a fire and rescue authority. The amendment also clarifies the exclusion for local authority staff.
Section 67 – Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru: governance and audit committee
175.Section 67 amends section 17 of the 2013 Act so that it requires the Commission to establish a governance and audit committee. It also confers additional review and assessment functions on the committee in relation to the Commission’s internal and external audit arrangements, handling of complaints and review of financial statements and reports. Provision is also made which enables the Commission to confer further suitable functions on the committee. Further, the section amends section 18 of the 2013 Act to specify the maximum number of members of the committee, the minimum number of lay members of the committee and to provide that both the committee chair and deputy to the chair, must be lay members of the committee.
Section 68 – Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru: power to charge
176.Section 68 amends the 2013 Act to insert section 11A, which provides the Commission with a power to charge recipients of goods or training provided by the Commission in relation to its electoral administration functions, or those relating to the functions of a principal council under Part 3 of the 2013 Act, where the recipient has agreed to receive the goods or training. For example, the Commission may provide optional training sessions to the electoral community, and could impose a charge on attendees to recover the cost of providing the training.
