English: Thank you, Chair. In 2014, the fourth Assembly's Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee reviewed the rules on disqualification from membership of the Assembly and recommended a number of legislative changes. Its recommendations were underpinned by the principle that as many people as possible should be able to stand for election to the Assembly, and that where disqualifications are necessary they should be clear and proportionate. The Bill's provisions on disqualification are aimed at giving effect to the committee's recommendations, and it is within this context that the Commission has developed its amendments, and against which we have considered our response to other Members' amendments. Amendments 271 and 278 in the name of David Melding effectively remove the Bill's provisions on disqualification. This would mean that the recommendations made by the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee would not be given legislative effect. For that reason, I urge Members to oppose these amendments. The matters that David Melding initially presented - [ Interruption.] Yes, but I'm responding now to what you said when you introduced this group, David Melding, that the matters that you have raised this afternoon have also been discussed in the committee stage, and there is a difference of view between myself and the view that you've expressed this afternoon. There are two points specifically that I would make in response to what you said in your contribution, that if the resignation from a disqualification was automatic on swearing in, that could create complexity for any employer who would be impacted by an automatic resignation of that kind, and also you made the point yourself that there are posts included among the ones that would debar a Member that are without this Senedd's competence, so you would have to deal with two lists of distinct jobs depending on the competence. And, for that reason, I urge the Members to oppose your amendments in this group. Amendments 55, 57, 58, 59, 63, 64, 72 and 78 by the Counsel General would redraft the Bill's provisions on disqualification. There is no difference of view between the Counsel General and myself on the policy intention, and on that basis, I am happy to support these amendments. And also there are amendments in my name: 12, 24, 30, 31 and 32. I would urge Members to support those as they correct minor drafting errors in the Bill. Amendments 56 and 61 in the name of the Counsel General deal with the disqualification of local authority councillors from membership of the Assembly. The Assembly Commission has no position to share with you on this matter this afternoon. Therefore, I come to amendment 79 in the name of the Counsel General. Once again, the Assembly Commission has no stance on the disqualification of Members of any legislature of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom. The Counsel General has made comments, of course, that this amendment would allow Members of the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly and MEPs to stand for the Assembly. Should they be successfully returned in such an election, they could serve in the Assembly and the other legislature simultaneously. Therefore, they would be treated differently to Members of the Westminster Parliament and the House of Lords, and then the Bill would treat MSPs and MLAs differently to Members of Parliament and the House of Lords. This policy is not consistent with the recommendations made by the fourth Assembly's Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, which called for clear and coherent legislative provisions on disqualification. I accept that the Welsh Government could prohibit MSPs and MLAs from serving in the Assembly via subordinate legislation, and I believe that the Counsel General said that that's your intention, to consider doing so. But, I believe that it would make the policy more coherent and clear if Welsh Government made it clear on the face of the Bill that Members of all other legislatures are disqualified from serving in the Assembly. That would have been a better option. And that then would be consistent with the approach Welsh Government is proposing for councillors, where this is stated on the face of the Bill rather than being addressed in subordinate legislation. I also ask Members to object to amendments 80 and 83 or to oppose them. Those are the Counsel General's. The Bill proposes to remove the blanket disqualification of various groups of persons based on their occupation, including civil servants, Assembly Commission staff, and members of the armed forces and police. The Assembly Commission has considered whether this is the right approach and gave particular consideration to the position of Assembly Commission staff, and concluded that it was not necessary to include them on the face of the Bill. This reflected the Commission's wish to implement the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee's recommendation to remove barriers for those who wish to stand for election. A more flexible approach would be to address restrictions on political activity within the terms and conditions of relevant posts within these groups, for example, in contracts of employment or staff codes of conduct. And for this reason I urge Members to oppose amendment 82 also, which disqualifies all Assembly Commission staff from standing for election. To conclude, I urge Members to support amendments 28 and 29. These amendments will make it clear that all members of the Civil Service Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission are disqualified from standing for election, not just the commissioners themselves. And I also ask Members to support amendment 33 in my name, which adds the President of Welsh Tribunals to the list of judicial office holders who are disqualified from standing for the Assembly.
Welsh: Diolch, Cadeirydd. Yn 2014, adolygodd Pwyllgor Materion Cyfansoddiadol a Deddfwriaethol y pedwerydd Cynulliad y rheolau ar anghymwyso rhag bod yn Aelod o'r Cynulliad, gan argymell nifer o newidiadau deddfwriaethol. Ategwyd ei argymhellion gan yr egwyddorion y dylai cymaint o bobl â phosibl allu sefyll i gael eu hethol i'r Cynulliad, a lle bo angen anghymwyso, dylent fod yn glir ac yn gymesur. Nod darpariaethau'r Bil ar anghymwyso yw gweithredu argymhellion y pwyllgor hwnnw, ac yn y cyd-destun hwn y mae'r Comisiwn wedi datblygu ei welliannau hefyd, ac yn y cyd-destun hwn hefyd rydym wedi ystyried ein hymateb i welliannau'r Aelodau eraill. Mae gwelliannau 271 a 278 yn enw David Melding i bob pwrpas yn dileu darpariaethau'r Bil ar anghymwyso. Byddai hyn yn golygu na fyddai'r argymhellion a wnaed gan y pwyllgor materion cyfansoddiadol yn cael effaith ddeddfwriaethol. Am y rheswm hwnnw, dwi'n annog Aelodau i wrthwynebu'r gwelliannau hyn. Cafodd y materion a gyflwynodd David Melding wrth gychwyn - [ Torri ar draw s.] Ie, ond dwi'n ymateb nawr i'r hyn ddywedoch chi wrth gyflwyno'r grŵp yma, David Melding, fod y materion rŷch chi wedi'u codi y prynhawn yma wedi cael trafodaeth hefyd yng nghyfnod y pwyllgor, ac mae yna wahaniaeth barn rhyngof i â'r farn rŷch chi wedi'i chyflwyno y prynhawn yma. Dau bwynt yn benodol fyddwn i'n eu gwneud yn ymateb i'r hyn roeddech chi wedi'i ddweud yn eich cyfraniad chi yw: os y byddai'r ymddiswyddiad o swydd anghymwys yn awtomatig wrth dyngu llw, yna, wrth gwrs, fe allai hynny greu cymhlethdod i unrhyw gyflogwr fyddai'n cael ei effeithio gan ymddiswyddiad awtomatig o'r math yna, ac, wrth gwrs, fe wnaethoch chi'r pwynt eich hunan fod yna swyddi sydd yn cael eu cynnwys o fewn y swyddi anghymwys sydd y tu allan i gymhwysedd y Senedd yma, ac, felly, fe fyddai'n rhaid ymdrin â dwy rhestr o swyddi gwahanol yn dibynnu ar eu cymhwysedd nhw. Ac am y rheswm hwnnw, dwi'n annog yr Aelodau i wrthwynebu eich gwelliannau chi yn y grŵp yma. Byddai gwelliannau 55, 57, 58, 59, 63, 64, 72 a 78 y Cwnsler Cyffredinol gyda'i gilydd yn ailddrafftio darpariaethau'r Bil ar anghymwyso. Does dim gwahaniaeth barn rhwng y Cwnsler Cyffredinol a minnau ar fwriad y polisi fan hyn, ac ar sail hyn, rwy'n fodlon cefnogi'r gwelliannau hyn. Ac wedyn, mae yna welliannau yn fy enw i: 12, 24, 30, 31 a 32. Dwi'n gofyn i Aelodau gefnogi rheini. Maen nhw'n cywiro mân wallau drafftio yn Bil. Mae gwelliannau 56 a 61, yn enw'r Cwnsler Cyffredinol, yn delio ag anghymwyso cynghorwyr awdurdodau lleol rhag bod yn Aelodau o'r Cynulliad. Nid oes gan Gomisiwn y Cynulliad safbwynt ar y mater yma i rannu gyda chi y prynhawn yma. Dod felly at welliant 79 yn enw'r Cwnsler Cyffredinol. Eto, does gan Gomisiwn y Cynulliad ddim safbwynt ar anghymwyso Aelodau deddfwrfa unrhyw wlad neu diriogaeth y tu allan i'r DU rhag sefyll i'w hethol yn y Cynulliad. Mae'r Cwnsler Cyffredinol eisoes wedi gwneud sylwadau, wrth gwrs, y bydd y gwelliant hwn yn caniatáu i Aelodau Seneddol yr Alban, Cynulliad Gogledd Iwerddon, ac Aelodau Seneddol Ewrop i sefyll i'w hethol i'r Cynulliad. Pe byddent yn cael eu hethol yn llwyddiannus mewn etholiad o'r fath, gallent wasanaethu yn y Cynulliad a'r ddeddfwrfa arall ar yr un pryd. Ac, felly, fe fydden nhw'n cael eu trin yn wahanol i Aelodau Seneddol San Steffan ac Aelodau Tŷ'r Arglwyddi, ac fe fyddai'r Mesur wedyn yn trin Aelodau Senedd yr Alban ac MLAs yn wahanol i Aelodau Seneddol Tai San Steffan. Ac, wrth, gwrs, nid yw'r polisi hwn yn gyson â'r argymhellion a wnaed gan bwyllgor materion cyfansoddiadol y pedwerydd Cynulliad, a oedd yn galw am ddarpariaethau deddfwriaethol clir a chydlynol ar anghymwyso. Rwy'n derbyn y gall Llywodraeth Cymru wahardd Aelodau Senedd yr Alban ac MLAs rhag gwasanaethu yn y Cynulliad drwy is-ddeddfwriaeth, a dwi'n credu bod y Cwnsler Cyffredinol wedi dweud taw dyna eich bwriad chi, yw i ystyried gwneud hynny. Ond, dwi'n credu y byddai'n gwneud y polisi'n fwy eglur a chydlynol pe bai Llywodraeth Cymru hefyd yn darparu datganiad clir ar wyneb y Bil fod Aelodau o bob deddfwrfa arall yn cael eu hanghymwyso rhag gwasanaethu yn y Cynulliad. Fe fyddai hynna wedi bod yn well opsiwn. A byddai hynny wedyn, wrth gwrs, yn gyson â'r dull y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei gynnig ar gyfer cynghorwyr, lle mae hyn wedi'i nodi ar wyneb y Bil, yn hytrach nag yn cael sylw mewn is-ddeddfwriaeth. Dwi hefyd yn gofyn i Aelodau wrthwynebu gwelliannau 80 ac 83 y Cwnsler Cyffredinol. Mae'r Bil yn cynnig dileu anghymwyso gwahanol grwpiau o bobl yn gyffredinol yn seiliedig ar eu galwedigaeth, gan gynnwys gweision sifil, staff y Comisiwn, ac aelodau o'r lluoedd arfog a'r heddlu. Mae Comisiwn y Cynulliad wedi trafod ai dyma'r agwedd briodol. Rhoddodd ystyriaeth benodol i sefyllfa staff Comisiwn y Cynulliad, a daethom ni i'r casgliad nad oedd angen eu cynnwys ar wyneb y Bil. Roedd hyn yn adlewyrchu dymuniad y Comisiwn i weithredu argymhelliad y Pwyllgor Materion Cyfansoddiadol a Deddfwriaethol y dylid cael gwared ar rwystrau i'r rhai sy'n dymuno sefyll mewn etholiad. Ymagwedd fwy hyblyg fyddai mynd i'r afael â chyfyngiadau ar weithgarwch gwleidyddol mewn telerau ac amodau swyddi perthnasol yn y grwpiau hyn, er enghraifft, drwy gontractau cyflogaeth neu godau ymddygiad staff. Am y rheswm yma, dwi'n annog Aelodau i wrthwynebu gwelliant 82 hefyd, sy'n gwahardd holl staff Comisiwn y Cynulliad rhag sefyll etholiad. I gloi, dwi'n annog yr Aelodau i gefnogi gwelliannau 28 a 29. Bydd y gwelliannau yma yn ei gwneud hi'n glir bod holl aelodau Comisiwn y Gwasanaeth Sifil a'r Comisiwn Cydraddoldeb a Hawliau Dynol wedi eu hanghymwyso rhag sefyll etholiad, nid dim ond y comisiynwyr eu hunain. A hefyd, gofynnaf i Aelodau gefnogi gwelliant 33, yn fy enw i, sy'n ychwanegu Llywydd Tribiwnlysoedd Cymru at y rhestr o ddeiliaid swyddi barnwrol sydd wedi eu hanghymwyso rhag sefyll i'w hethol i'r Cynulliad.