A plan to introduce gender quotas to ensure equal numbers of men and women in the Senedd has been shelved. As part of plans to increase the Senedd from 60 to 96 members, the Welsh government also wanted it to be gender equal.

There have been questions about whether the Welsh Government has the power to do this. As a result, the proposed Senedd reform legislation includes measures such as increasing the number of Senedd members, but the gender quota element has been removed from the bill and is being considered separately in case it faces a legal challenge.

There were plans to release it in the next few days, but it was postponed. Although Plaid Cymru supports the proposal, the Welsh Conservatives oppose the plan and say people should be chosen based on merit.

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Lawyers told IC members they did not have the necessary powers, the conservative said last year. Darren Millar, a member of the Senedd enlargement committee, described the legal advice as “understandable”.

The Welsh Government refused to confirm the reason for the delay or say how long it would last. The statement said: “We continue to work on the Senedd Cymru (Election Candidate Lists) Bill, which means we will not be publishing it on 4 December as originally planned.” For the latest news on Welsh politics, sign up to our newsletter here.

In October, plans emerged for transgender people to be considered their accepted gender in upcoming Senate elections. You can read it here.