The Senedd Cymru Constituency Regulations 2025

Made: 16 June 2025

Laid before Senedd Cymru: 19 June 2025

Coming into force: 18 July 2025

The Welsh Ministers, having laid the report before the Senedd on 11 March 2025 as required by paragraph 8(5) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act, make these Regulations to give effect to the Commission’s determinations in keeping with the powers given to them by paragraph 9(1), (5) and (6) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act.

Title and coming into force

1

• (1) The title of these Regulations is the Senedd Cymru Constituency Regulations 2025.

• (2) These Regulations come into force on 18 July 2025.

• (3) Despite the coming into force of these Regulations under regulation 1(2), they do not have effect in relation to a general election the poll for which is held on or before 6 April 2026.

• (4) In this regulation—

• “general election” means an ordinary general election, or an extraordinary general election, held under Part 1 of the 2006 Act.

Interpretation

2

In these Regulations—

• “the 2006 Act” (“Deddf 2006”) means the Government of Wales Act 2006[^f00003];

• “Senedd” (“Senedd”) has the same meaning as in section 1(1) of the 2006 Act;

• “Senedd constituencies” (“etholaethau’r Senedd”) means the constituencies defined in the table in the Schedule to these Regulations, which return a Senedd Member as specified in Part 1 of the 2006 Act.

Revocations

3

The following Orders are revoked—

• (a) the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006[^f00004], and

• (b) the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2011[^f00005].

Senedd Constituencies

4

• (1) Wales is divided into Senedd constituencies—

• (a) which are named in column 1 of the table in the Schedule,

• (b) which are designated as county or borough constituencies in that column, and

• (c) which comprise the UK parliamentary constituencies which are set out in columns 2 and 3 of that table, opposite the name of the constituency in column 1[^f00006].

• (2) In this regulation—

• “UK parliamentary constituency” (“etholaeth seneddol y DU”) means a United Kingdom parliamentary constituency created by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023[^f00007] (“the 2023 Order”), which returns a member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, disregarding the operative effect of any amendments or alterations to the 2023 Order after the date on which these Regulations are made.

Electoral Registers

5

Each electoral registration officer[^f00008] must re-arrange or adapt the register of local government electors maintained under section 9(1)(b)[^f00009] and (5A)[^f00010] of the Representation of People Act 1983[^f00011], as required to give effect to these Regulations.

SCHEDULE — Name, designation and composition of Senedd constituencies

Signed

Jayne Bryant — Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, one of the Welsh Ministers — 16 June 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The final determinations of the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru (“the Commission”) in respect of electoral arrangements for Senedd constituencies were published on 11 March 2025. These Regulations give effect to those determinations, in accordance with the Welsh Ministers’ powers, which are set out in paragraph 9(1) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act.

The Commission’s report determines the 16 Senedd constituencies made up of specific pairings of UK parliamentary constituencies, in keeping with the Commission’s duties under paragraph 2 and 8 of Schedule 2 to the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (“the 2024 Act”).

The Welsh Ministers laid the Commission’s report before the Senedd, in accordance with paragraph 8(5) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act on 11 March 2025.

Regulations made in accordance with the Welsh Ministers’ powers as set out in paragraph 9(1) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act will not affect the return of a Member to the Senedd until the dissolution of the Senedd in connection with the first general election to be held after 6 April 2026 by virtue of paragraph 9(8) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act.

Paragraph 9(7) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act requires these Regulations to be laid before the Senedd as soon as is reasonably practicable after the regulations are made.

Regulation 1 sets out the title and coming into force of these Regulations. The commencement provisions give effect to the requirements of paragraph 9(8) of Schedule 2 to the 2024 Act.

Regulation 2 contains interpretation provisions for these Regulations.

Regulation 3 revokes two Orders: the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1041) and The Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/2987). These revocations have the effect of abolishing the previous Senedd constituencies.

Regulation 4 sets out and describes the Senedd constituencies into which Wales is now divided.

Regulation 5 requires each electoral registration officer to re-arrange or adapt the register of electors as necessary to give effect to these Regulations.

The Schedule contains the names, designations and composition of the Senedd constituencies.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: The Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales was established by section 53 of, and Schedule 8 to, the Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70). Section 53 and Schedule 8 were repealed by section 73(2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013 (anaw 4) which was renamed as the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru etc. Act 2013 (“the 2013 Act”), by the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (asc 4) (“the 2024 Act”) (see section 11(1)). The 2013 Act re-named the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales as the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales. The 2024 Act re-names the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales as the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru (see section 12).

[^f00002]: 2024 asc 4.

[^f00003]: 2006 c. 32. Relevant amendments are made by the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024 (asc 4), sections 2(1), and 25(2)(a) (with section 24(1)).

[^f00004]: S.I. 2006/1041. This Order was amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1791 (which was revoked by the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/1230)). It was also amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) (Amendment) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/2987) and the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/1230).

[^f00005]: S.I. 2011/2987.

[^f00006]: Maps of the individual constituencies into which the Commission determined that Wales should be divided are available at 2026 Review: Final Determinations | DBCC (https://www.dbcc.gov.wales/reviews/03-25/2026-review-final-determinations)

[^f00007]: S.I. 2023/1230.

[^f00008]: As appointed in accordance with section 8(2A) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2). Section 8 was amended by section 66(6) and (8) and paragraph 68(1) of Schedule 16 to the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) to insert provisions regarding the appointment of electoral registration officers in Wales.

[^f00009]: This provision was amended by section 8(a) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Representation of the People Act 2000 (c. 2).

[^f00010]: Section 9(5A) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 was inserted by section 23 of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 (anaw 1) and requires electoral registration officers to maintain specific records of electors aged 16 or 17.

[^f00011]: 1983 c. 2.