Chamber and committees

Now you are the voice of God.

We will get back to the committee and confirm that detail to you, Mr Mountain.

Once again, I rely on Iain’s expertise.

In looking at the matter as a candidate and a former councillor, I would always say that you could spend more money on a campaign. However, you have to draw a line on what is fair for everyone, to make sure that there is a level playing field. The instrument gives us that opportunity.

When you look at the end of the previous Scottish parliamentary election, when we were finally allowed to go out, get involved and get back to some form of normal campaigning, we managed to get things moving and deliver leaflets. Personally I do not know of many local candidates in our area who used mailing to that extent. I did not do so myself but simply moved forward with the campaign as it was.

We had the campaign laid out right from the start. We made sure that we were accounting for the fact that we were living in difficult times and that things would be a certain way. Was it a nervous time for me, as a candidate? It probably was. Indeed, halfway through the campaign, I was sitting in the house, starting to worry. However, we need to give the parties the opportunity to continue with these limits, and I think that they should be okay. If, after the next election, we get data further down the line that says otherwise, we will review the situation.

Once again, it has been a pleasure.

I take your point on board. It was not yesterday that I was a councillor, Mr Mountain, but you should not let the white hair fool you. It was only 11 or 12 years ago.

I also take on board your comments about geographical differences. I am aware of that issue, but I ask Iain Hockenhull to talk about consultation with local authorities and councillors.

That is helpful, Mr Doris. COSLA and the political parties panel could use a lot of the technologies that Mr Mountain mentioned in order to engage with their membership. It is important to remember that the Government is there to govern and that, although we consult, we need to make sure that those organisations consult their own membership as well. That is helpful, and it is something that we could suggest to and discuss with partner organisations.

It would be helpful for us all to check that information so that we can tweak it and be sure. We do not claim to have all the answers all the time. We must ensure that we get things right in the future.

As always, it is a pleasure to be here. I thank you for the opportunity to discuss the proposed changes to the procedures for running local government elections in Scotland.

The measures that are laid out in the instruments that are before the committee were carefully developed to assist with the delivery of next May’s local government elections. They will apply some of the changes that were made ahead of this year’s Scottish Parliament elections, and they reflect recent primary legislation by the Parliament on the franchise and wider electoral reform.

Although our focus has been on clarifying and strengthening existing approaches, we have also taken the opportunity to update electoral rules to strengthen our system and improve the experience for candidates and voters. For example, we are bringing in new exemptions on candidates’ spending in relation to costs for security, adaptations for disabilities and translation. That aligns with the approach that was taken for this year’s Scottish Parliament election, and it reflects the importance of accessibility, inclusion and safety.

Development of the instruments has benefited from close engagement with key stakeholders including the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, the Electoral Commission and the Scottish Parliament political parties panel. Those partners and the wider electoral community continue to play a vital role in shaping policy and in ensuring that voters have the best experience on polling day. I thank them for their support and their reflections, and I look forward to working closely with them in the coming months on the preparations for May 2022.

I hope that the committee will agree that the provisions are positive changes that will benefit voters, candidates and administrators and that it will therefore give its support to the instruments. I am willing to take any questions, and I thank you for listening to me.

I agree—a lot of the time, people say that we make things difficult for ourselves. It is a small group of individuals, but we are working to the principle that voting needs to be accessible to everyone. No matter how you look at it, it is difficult for us to make it easier for prisoners to vote, because there are all kinds of complex issues. Prisoners could be released early or they could be incarcerated for longer. All kinds of variables make the issue quite difficult and complex for us.

I will ask Iain Hockenhull to give you the detail, but I have given you the mood music. It is a complex situation and we are trying to make sure that it is as simple as possible, but it can be quite challenging.