Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) (Amendment) Order 2009

It may be helpful if I briefly set out the background to the order under consideration, which is made under Sections 12 and 113 of the Scotland Act 1998. Last year, the then Secretary of State for Scotland announced his response to the Gould report on the 2007 Scottish elections. Following those elections, Ron Gould was invited to review what had caused the problems that occurred and make recommendations for improvements. This order, I am pleased to say, takes forward many of those improvements, including reverting to separate ballot papers for constituency and regional votes. The unacceptable number of rejected ballots in 2007 was caused in no small part by the fact that the two papers had been combined. The Government accept the rationale to revert to two papers, and this order effects that change. Equally contentious was the use of what Gould called "naming strategies" on the regional side of the ballot paper. He recommended that, while parties should still be allowed to use registered descriptions on the regional ballot paper, this should be in a place secondary to the registered party name. We are making this change in the order, along with a change to the constituency ballot paper, where only the registered party name will appear—again, in line with the Gould recommendations. As a consequence of this change, we have accepted the case for allowing for the prefix "Scottish" to appear in front of the registered party name. We envisage this being used when the registered party is a UK-wide party. It is our view—and, I understand, the view of all the other major parties—that this is less confusing to voters. The order also removes the option of conducting an electronic count of ballot papers. The disruption and confusion caused by e-counting machines performing poorly in 2007 was well publicised. Ron Gould quite rightly recommended that they not be used again for Scottish Parliament elections until systems had proven themselves more reliable. We are also extending the timetable for elections so that there is more time between close of nominations and polling day to allow for the efficient issue and receipt of postal votes. With more than 10 per cent of votes now being cast in this way, it has become more important than ever that those votes count. There were some delays with postal votes in 2007, which meant that some voters were not able to cast their vote, never mind being certain that their vote counted. We have accepted the Gould recommendation that more time is needed to ensure better administration of postal votes. There will now be 23 days between close of nominations and the poll, an increase of one week, which will bring these elections into line with European elections. These changes, along with a small number of minor amendments, have been subject to wide consultation with electoral administrators, political parties and others. In accordance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, we have fully consulted the Electoral Commission. Voters have also been asked for their views on matters relating to the ballot paper. I am happy to report that the changes we are making are broadly welcomed, and I commend the order to the Committee. I beg to move.