Private Members ballot

From time to time the Presiding Officer holds legislative ballots in NAfW. The Presiding Officer is the AM who is elected by the other Members to chair their meetings (plenary session), head the Assembly Commission, maintain order and protect the rights of Members: so in many ways is viewed as a figurehead for the Assembly.

The process for the legislative ballots is laid down in the Standing Orders (rules for running the Assembly). It states that the ballots will be held from time to time and whilst there is no definition for this, in reality there has been a ballot once every two months.

All Assembly Members, other than members of the government or AMs who have previously won the ballot in that Assembly, may apply to be included in the ballot and can effectively propose a new piece of legislation for Wales.

The ballot winner will then have their proposal debated in plenary (full Assembly meeting) and if it is agreed to, will then be able to start the process to introduce their legislation. If the plenary debate is lost, then no AM will be able to bring forward the same or similar proposal for another 6 months.

Third sector influence

The ballot is an important process for third sector organisations. If you can persuade an AM, group of AMs or political party to support your legislation proposals, then there are effectively 6 chances a year for that proposal to come forward.

Make sure you know who is eligible for the ballot so that you can target your lobbying effectively. Click here to find out more about the process, when the next ballot is, and what has been successful and unsuccessful in the past.