RESPONSE BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR SCOTLAND TO THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON BOUNDARY DIFFERENCES AND VOTING SYSTEMS (ARBUTHNOTT COMMISSION)
The Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems, under the chairmanship of Professor Sir John Arbuthnott, presented its report - 'Putting Citizens First: Boundaries, Voting and Representation in Scotland' - to the Secretary of State for Scotland and the First Minister on 19 January 2006.
The Commission made 24 recommendations. These, with the Secretary of State's responses, are set out below.
Boundaries
1. Having the same constituencies for the Scottish Parliament and Westminster is desirable but not essential and should not drive change to the electoral system for the Scottish Parliament.
2. The boundaries for Scottish Parliamentary constituencies should be within and respect local authority areas rather than Westminster constituencies.
3. Scottish Parliament regions should be revised to reflect natural local communities and identity and should be built on local authority areas.
4. The functions of the Boundary Commission for Scotland and the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland should be combined to enable the constituencies and regions for the Scottish Parliament and local authorities to be reviewed together. Consideration should also be given to integrating the review of Westminster constituencies in Scotland into this process.
The Government is pleased to note that the Commission was able to confirm that having different boundaries between the constituencies of the House of Commons and those of the Scottish Parliament is not a matter which requires further action and should not drive change to the electoral system for the Scottish Parliament.
Regarding greater alignment between the Scottish Parliament constituencies and local authority areas in Scotland, these matters are covered in the Scottish Government response. Any action which might need to be taken by the UK Government will depend on the outcomes of work being taken forward by the Executive. Consideration of possible new structures for the regions for Scottish Parliament elections and the future review of constituency boundaries would also follow from this.
Voting
5. The mixed member proportional system for elections to the Scottish Parliament should be retained, but revised.
The Government is pleased that the Commission's conclusions generally support the operation of the current Additional Member System (AMS) for electing members to the Scottish Parliament, which will remain the system to be used in the next elections in May 2007.
6. The language used to describe the mixed member electoral system for the Scottish Parliament should clearly explain the "constituency vote" and "regional vote". The term "second vote" is misleading and should not be used. Where possible, the term "mixed member system" should be used rather than "additional member system". The voting system for the Scottish Parliament should also be presented as a system in its own right and not as an adaptation of first past the post.
This is a matter for the Electoral Commission. The Commission is, along with the Scottish Government, undertaking a number of initiatives to help improve knowledge and understanding of the electoral systems ahead of the 2007 Scottish elections.
7. The Electoral Commission should clarify the purpose of the regional vote and in particular revise the design of the ballot papers used in Scottish Parliament elections with the aim of conveying better the way the voting system operates.
The Scotland Office consulted in June 2006 on this recommendation that the ballot papers for Scottish Parliament elections should be redesigned in order to improve voter understandinof AMS. Key stakeholders were involved, including the Electoral Commission, all political parties, returning officers and special interest groups. Focus groups of voters tested sample ballot papers for accessibility. Responses to the consultation are available on the Scotland Office website at www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk
The Scotland Office announced on 22 November 2006 that the two separate ballot papers used in previous Scottish Parliament elections would be replaced for the elections in May 2007 by a single colour-coded paper - with the left side listing the parties standing for election as regional MSPs and the right side the candidates standing as constituency MSPs.
8. In order to give voters more choice over the election of regional members, the closed list system should be replaced by open lists The Electoral Commission should investigate how best to devise such a system while minimising complexity for voters.
The Government does not propose to replace the present method of electing regional members with open lists, believing that this would over-complicate the voting system.
9. Candidates for election to the Scottish Parliament should not be prohibited from standing in a constituency and on the regional list at the same election.
The Government notes the Commission's recommendation strongly in favour of allowing a candidate both to stand in a constituency and be on a regional list, and following this has no plans to introduce any change in this area for elections to the Scottish Parliament.
10. Restricting voter choice by removing the regional vote and introducing a one-vote system is not acceptable. A two vote system should be retained for Scottish Parliament elections.
The two vote system will be retained for Scottish Parliament elections.
11. The mixed member system should continue to be based on regional lists rather than a national list.
The Commission's arguments in favour of regional lists are accepted.
12. The Scottish Parliament and local government elections should not be held on the same day.
The coupling of the Scottish local government elections with those for the Scottish Parliament is a matter for Scottish Ministers and that Parliament.
13. The single transferable vote should be introduced for European parliamentary elections in Scotland.
Introducing the single transferable vote for European Parliamentary elections for Scotland would not be novel, since this is the system already used in Northern Ireland. However, the Government does not at this time believe that there is a strong enough case for changing the voting system in Scotland for elections to the European Parliament. There would need to be strong reasons to diverge from the system used in the rest of Great Britain. None is immediately apparent.
14. Our revised electoral system, if implemented, should be reviewed following experience of two elections. If further reform is judged necessary, consideration should be given at that time to introducing the single transferable vote for Scottish Parliament elections.
This would only become an issue if the electoral system were to be changed. Responsibility for keeping the matter under review and any future action would lie with the Scotland Office.
15. E-counting and e-voting should be introduced as soon as possible but before 2011.
The recommendation on electronic counting and electronic voting is in line with the modernising process of the electoral system which the Government is pursuing. E-counting is already being planned for the Holyrood and Scottish local government elections in May 2007.
Representation
16. Citizens should not be restricted in their freedom to access any of their elected representatives on any issue.
17. The code of conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament should be revised to provide a clear and positive role for both constituency and regional members to enhance representation for constituents and improve scrutiny of local and national services.
18. The Scottish Parliament should consider how the role of the Presiding Officer could be strengthened to ensure compliance with the code of conduct.
19. All MSPs should be entitled to deal with constituency work, but we expect this to be primarily undertaken by constituency MSPs. All MSPs should be entitled to deal with issues raised by constituents affecting a wider area, but these should primarily be dealt with by regional MSPs.
20. The Parliaments and local authorities should consider how best to improve the provision of training and skills development for their members.
The conduct and functions of constituency and regional MSPs are matters for the Scottish Parliament and the Presiding Officer.
21. No pupil should leave school without having had an introduction to the voting systems and the work of the Parliaments, in the context of Education for Citizenship.
This is a matter for the Scottish Government.
22. In advance of every election, information clearly describing the electoral system and voting arrangements should be provided to the electorate.
23. After every election, information should be provided to every household which includes details of their representatives and their responsibilities.
24. There should be a publicly accessible national resource providing advice on how to contact elected representatives and public bodies.
These are matters for the Electoral Commission and local authorities. The public awareness campaign for the 2007 elections will provide information on these elections and the voting systems which will be used, and will also aim to improve awareness of how to cast valid and effective votes.
Scotland Office 23 January 2007