PLANS to increase the size of the Senedd by electing an extra 36 members from 2026 will include laws that all candidates must live in Wales.

The “once-in-a-generation reforms to make the Senedd more modern and effective” have been published by the Welsh Government as part of the Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru.

The Senedd Reform Bill proposes the Senedd to have 96 Members, up from 60, elected using closed proportional lists, with seats allocated using the D’Hondt formula.

The 32 new UK Parliament constituencies will be paired to create 16 Senedd constituencies for the 2026 election, with each constituency electing six Members.

Elections will be held every four years from 2026, and all candidates for future Senedd elections must live in Wales.

The Bill also legislates for an increase in the maximum number of Welsh Ministers which can be appointed from 12 to 17 (plus the First Minister and the Counsel General) with an additional power to enable a further increase in the number to 18 or 19 with the approval of the Senedd, and increasing the maximum number of Deputy Presiding Officers who can be elected by Senedd Members from one to two.

The bill would include a “review mechanism to consider the operation and effect of the new legislative provisions following the 2026 election and any other Senedd reform issue it considers relevant.”

The Bill also proposes a full boundary review should take place after the 2026 Senedd election.

This will take effect at the 2030 Senedd election, with reviews every eight years.

A separate Bill to introduce gender quotas for candidates for election to the Senedd will be brought forward later in the year.

Counsel General Mick Antoniw said: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a modern Senedd, which truly reflects Wales, and to strengthen our democracy.

“We are creating a more effective Senedd, with a greater ability and capacity to hold the Welsh Government to account.

“This Bill will help ensure the Senedd also reflects the huge changes to Wales’ devolution settlement since 1999, including law-making and tax-raising powers.

“Wales is the most under-represented country in the UK – the Senedd has the least Members of any devolved Parliament in the country and the recent reduction to UK Parliamentary seats is the most significant change in a century.”

Welsh Conservative Shadow Constitution Minister, Darren Millar MS said: “It’s disappointing that Welsh Labour Ministers continue to press ahead with plans to increase the size of the Senedd at a cost of tens of millions each year while threatening to cut budgets for schools and hospitals.

“Wales need more doctors, dentists, nurses and teachers, not more politicians.”