Wednesday 27 August 2008 - The Electoral Commission has today published its report on Electoral Administration in Scotland.
The Recommendations for change in Scotland are summarised as follows:-
1 – Establish an Electoral Management Board for Scotland;
2 – Provide the Convener of the Electoral Management Board with statutory powers to direct local officers;
3 – Develop the Electoral Commission’s role in driving and monitoring performance improvements for electoral administration in Scotland;
4 – Consolidate and simplify the legal framework for electoral administration in Scotland;
5 – Take steps to address structural causes of funding shortfalls for electoral administration in Scotland, and
6 – Consider the potential for and implications of a coordinated electoral registration service across the UK
Tuesday 29 July 2008 - The Boundary Commission for Scotland has advised that the Local Inquiry for the review of the 3 Scottish Parliament Constituencies in the Highland Council area will take place in the Town House, Inverness on 19 and 20 November 2008.
The Assistant Commissioner appointed to conduct the Inquiry is Sheriff Principal Stephen Young.
The Council has objected to the Commission’s provisional proposals for 3 Constituencies in Highland and will be given the opportunity to give evidence at the Inquiry.
The Council has submitted two proposals to the Commission, one proposing 4 Constituencies, the other being an alternative division of Highland into 3 Constituencies.
Tuesday 15 July 2008 - The UK Government has published a White Paper on Further Reform of the House of Lords. Nothing will happen this side of the General Election.
The white paper marks the latest staging post in the reform process and is the third such discussion paper in seven years. It maps out areas where Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats can agree.
The main areas of agreement are:
●A 100 per cent elected chamber; or 80 per cent elected and 20 per cent of members appointed for their expertise
●Members (or senators) to serve a single non-renewable term of 12 to 15 years, and would be elected in thirds on the same day as a general election
This suggests Elections to the House of Lords every 4 / 5 years and the Government has indicated that the elections could start in 2013.
The UK Government believes that further consideration should be given to the following voting systems options for elections to the second chamber:
• a First Past The Post system;
• an Alternative Vote system;
• a Single Transferable Vote system; or
• an open or semi-open list system.
The choice of a voting system for elections to the second chamber is the subject of much discussion. It is a key decision about the way forward for a reformed second chamber and hence about the institutions of our democracy. The UK Government is therefore keen to facilitate an extensive and wide-ranging debate on this issue. Hence it would welcome views from all quarters.
Monday 30 June 2008 - The UK Government, through the Ministry of Justice, has issues a consultation paper entitled “The Governance of Britain: Election Day: Weekend Voting”. Responses have to be submitted by 26 September. The consultation paper invites views on the merits of moving the voting day for Parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections, and local elections in England and Wales, and the best way of doing this.
The paper sets out a range of issues that have to be taken into account, including practical considerations, the potential cost of holding elections at the
weekend and the need to ensure that any changes do not interfere with religious observance.
Monday 2 June 2008 - Scottish Ministers propose to modify the area of Cairngorms National Park as identified in the Cairngorms National Park Designation, Transitional and Consequential Provisions (Scotland) Order 2003 (the Designation Order). The intention to extend the southern boundary of the National Park into the area of Perth and Kinross Council was announced by Minister for Environment, Michael Russell, in the debate on National Parks on 13 March 2008.
The Scottish Government has asked Scottish Natural Heritage to consult other people and come up with detailed proposals on:
exactly where the new boundary should be;
how many people from each local authority should sit on the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board, taking into account the new boundary.
The public will be invited to submit their views on these two issues in a consultation between August and October 2008.
The formal proposal may be found at http://www.snh.org.uk/strategy/sr-adnp02.asp
Monday 19 May 2008 - The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee today published its Report on the Experience of the Scottish Elections in 2007. The Report is all encompassing and runs to some 129 pages.
The principal conclusions and recommendations of the Committee are:-
- that overall responsibility for elections to to the Scottish Parliament should not be transferred to the Scottish Executive;
- separate ballot papers must be provided for the election of constituency and regional MSP's;
- there should be further research into a new format for ballot papers, particularly the questions of candidate order and the use of party descriptions in addition to registered party names
A summary of the recommendations is available from the Current Documents section shown to the right of this page.
Tuesday 18 March 2008 - The Scottish Government has now published its Response to the Independent Review of The Scottish Parliamentary and Local Government Elections 3 May 2007. The Scottish Government – with the Scottish Parliament itself – strongly supports Ron Gould’s central recommendation that legislative and administrative responsibility for elections to the Scottish Parliament should sit with that Parliament and the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Government has also indicated that it will take forward Ron Gould’s other recommendation for parliamentary and local elections. As a first step, a consultation document on decoupling local and Parliamentary elections is being published (as Appendix A to its Response metioned above). Other consultations on a Chief Returning Officer and other matters will follow and will be made before the next elections. Responses to the Consultation Paper require to be submitted by 12 June 2008.