Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024

30 Guidance for political parties to promote diversity in persons seeking elected office

(1) The Welsh Ministers must issue guidance for registered political parties about—

(a) collecting, collating and publishing diversity information about candidates representing registered political parties at elections for the return of members of Senedd Cymru;

(b) developing, publishing, implementing and reviewing strategies for—

(i) promoting diversity in the specified characteristics and specified circumstances of candidates representing registered political parties at Welsh elections, and

(ii) helping candidates representing registered political parties at Welsh elections overcome barriers to their participation in the elections connected to having those characteristics or circumstances.

(2) The Welsh Ministers—

(a) must publish guidance under this section;

(b) must publish the first guidance under this section before 1 May 2025;

(c) must review published guidance from time to time, having regard to the cycle of ordinary general elections for membership of Senedd Cymru and, in relation to guidance under subsection (1)(b), the cycle of ordinary elections for membership of the councils of counties, county boroughs and communities in Wales and elected mayors;

(d) may revise published guidance at any time.

(3) In this section—

• “diversity information” (“gwybodaeth am amrywiaeth”) means specified information relating to a person’s personal characteristics or personal circumstances;

• “elected mayor” (“maer etholedig”) means an elected mayor of a council of a county or county borough in Wales;

• “specified” (“penodedig”) means specified in guidance under this section;

• “Welsh election” (“etholiad Cymreig”) means an election for the return of—

  (a)

  a member of Senedd Cymru;

  (b)

  a member of the council of a county or county borough in Wales;

  (c)

  a member of the council of a community in Wales;

  (d)

  an elected mayor.