Senedd

Senedd Cymru Welsh Parliament
Sixth Senedd
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Founded	12 May 1999
Preceded by	Welsh Office (1965–1999)
Leadership
Llywydd (Presiding Officer)	Elin Jones, Plaid Cymru since 11 May 2016
Deputy Presiding Officer (Dirprwy Lywydd)	David Rees, Labour since 12 May 2021
Trefnydd (Leader)	Jane Hutt, Labour since 21 March 2024
First Minister	Vaughan Gething, Labour since 20 March 2024
Leader of the Opposition	Andrew RT Davies, Conservative since 24 January 2021
Chief Executive and Clerk	Manon Antoniazzi since April 2017
Structure
Seats	60
Political groups	Government (30)   Labour (30)[a] In limited co-operation with (12)   Plaid Cymru (12)[b] Other Opposition (18)   Conservative (16)   Liberal Democrats (1)   Independent (1)[2]
Elections
Voting system	Additional-member system
Last election	6 May 2021
Next election	due on 7 May 2026
Meeting place
Siambr (debating chamber) in the Senedd building, Cardiff, Wales
Website
senedd.wales

The Senedd (Welsh: [ˈsɛnɛð] ^ⓘ; lit. 'parliament' or 'senate'), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and Senedd Cymru ([ˈsɛnɛð ˈkəmrɨ]) in Welsh,^[3] is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees to certain taxes, and scrutinises the Welsh Government.^[4] It is a bilingual institution, with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business.^[5] From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was officially known as the National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) and often simply called the Welsh Assembly (Cynulliad Cymru).^[6]

The Senedd comprises 60 members who are known as members of the Senedd (Aelodau o'r Senedd),^[7] abbreviated as "MS" (Welsh: AS).^[8] Since 2011, members are elected for a five-year term of office under an additional member system, in which 40 MSs represent smaller geographical divisions known as "constituencies" and are elected by first-past-the-post voting, and 20 MSs represent five "electoral regions" using the D'Hondt method of proportional representation. Typically, the largest party in the Senedd forms the Welsh Government.

A National Assembly for Wales was created by the Government of Wales Act 1998, following the result of the 1997 referendum. The Assembly initially had no powers to make primary legislation. Limited law-making powers were gained through the Government of Wales Act 2006. Its primary law-making powers were enhanced following a Yes vote in the referendum on 3 March 2011, meaning that the UK Parliament or the Secretary of State for Wales were no longer consulted when passing acts of the National Assembly for Wales related to the 20 devolved areas.^[9] These powers were further extended by the Wales Act 2014 and Wales Act 2017, with the latter moving the Assembly to a reserved powers model of devolution like that of the Scottish Parliament. In May 2020, the Assembly was renamed to "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament" when section 2 of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 came into force. The Senedd's powers in economic matters are significantly restricted by the UK Internal Market Act 2020,^[10] a primary purpose of which is to constrain the capacity of the devolved institutions to use their regulatory autonomy.^[11] Matters devolved to the Senedd include health, education, economic development, transport, the environment, agriculture, local government and some taxes.

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