Consultation on the Code of Practice for individual candidates at Senedd elections

Summary

Ahead of the Senedd elections in 2021, the Welsh Government introduced legislation allowing the Electoral Commission to draft a Code of Practice on election spending for candidates. This Code was laid in the Senedd and came into force ahead of the 2021 Senedd elections.

Due to legislative reform in Wales, and a change to the electoral system for Senedd elections from 2026, we have made amendments to the Code of Practice to reflect the legislative changes.

The content around the categories of spending will remain largely unaltered. The main changes include:

  • Removal or amendments to some of the definitions to reflect the new electoral system;
  • The Code only applies to spending to promote individual (independent) candidates;
  • An exemption has been added relating to the costs of security for people and property;
  • Removal of the section on splitting spending between candidate and party as this does not apply for individual candidates;
  • We have added electricity charges for transport (as well as fuel costs).

We will also be drafting and publishing non-statutory guidance for individual candidates that will sit alongside the Code, and the purpose of this guidance will be to provide examples and greater detail.

How to respond

The consultation is open from Wednesday 11 June 2025.

You can respond by:

The Electoral Commission
James William House
9 Museum Place
Cardiff
CF10 3BD

The consultation will close on Sunday 27th July 2025.

Section 28 of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 creates a duty on Welsh ministers to provide for a scheme of financial assistance to help disabled candidates in a Welsh election overcome barriers to their participation in the election connected to their disability. This was previously piloted at the 2021 Senedd and 2022 local government elections and was known as the Access to Elected Office Fund. The above provisions in the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Act 2024 aim to establish a financial assistance scheme on a more permanent basis.

Although regulations to establish such a scheme have not yet been made, it is likely that any regulations that are introduced would seek to exclude financial assistance provided by the scheme from candidate expenditure limits. This would be in addition to the existing exemption on expenses relating to a candidate's disability. We would need to add this wording to the Code at a later date.

We would be interested in your views on the following: