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It is fair to say that some of what we might call the policy remedies to those concerns are still very much under development by bodies such as the Electoral Commission. The debate on how best to go about improving electoral legislation as a result of the lessons learned from those polls is on-going.
Particularly at that end of the spectrum, when one is considering whether the public interest is best served by some form of diversion or support rather than a prosecutorial option, as Anne Marie Hicks has said, that is one of the considerations.
I know about the fantastic work that the small team of two Parkinson’s nurses does in Dumfries and Galloway to ensure as best as it can that care is available across the region to those who live in rural and remote areas, despite the challenges that that poses.
I will not attempt to second-guess the Scottish ministers or lead them towards a particular conclusion; I am happy to work together to give effect to whatever they think is the best way of ensuring that we all collectively meet the expectation that our citizens have that those standards will be maintained.
That could include issues about what is or is not reserved, and it should include the issue about dictating what minimum standards look like. It could also include a best practice standard to which the private sector could sign up.
I absolutely agree with you that we should not be dictating to local authorities: they know their communities best and it is for them to get the strategy right.
They will continue to make a positive impact. I wish them all the best, and I congratulate them once more on receiving their champions of change awards.