This is the fourth commencement order made by the Welsh Ministers under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (“the 2021 Act”).

Article 2 of this Order brings the following provisions of the 2021 Act into force on 17 November 2021—

• section 19 (qualification for election and holding office as a member of a local authority in Wales);

• section 20 (disqualification for election and being a member of a local authority);

• section 21 (disqualification of member of a local authority in Wales for appointment to paid office);

• paragraphs 1(3) to 1(5), 1(7), 1(9), 5 and 13 of Schedule 2 (minor and consequential amendments relating to elections).

Article 3 amends article 6 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (Commencement No. 1 and Saving Provision) Order 2021 to omit paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to the 2021 Act from the provisions which are brought into force on 5 May 2022. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 is a transitional provision relating to assistants to local authority executives which does not need to be brought into force as a consequence of article 2 bringing into force paragraphs 1(3) and 1(7) of Schedule 2.

Article 4 makes transitional provision to ensure that the provisions listed in paragraph (2) which are brought into force by article 2 on 17 November 2021 only have effect in relation to a local government election taking place on or after 5 May 2022. This means that the relevant provisions will be in effect for the purposes of the preparatory arrangements required for such an election, to include determining whether a candidate is qualified to be elected. However, the provisions listed in article 4(2) will have no effect for the purposes of any local government election that may take place before 5 May 2022.