Electoral reform consultation: easy read

Part 5 – Administration and Governance

Boundaries Scotland

Boundaries Scotland is an independent organisation that reviews and makes suggestions on where the boundaries between different electoral areas of Scotland should be.

If Boundaries Scotland propose changing a boundary between parts of Scotland, the Scottish Parliament has to look at this. They can then approve the proposal or ask Boundaries Scotland to review it again based on their comments.

The Scottish Government is looking at ways to make sure political reasons do not affect proposed boundary changes. We have come up with three options for this.

Option 1

The Scottish Parliament will no longer be able to ask Boundaries Scotland to consider their proposals again if they are rejected by the Scottish Parliament. This might mean that some boundaries become out of date as the number of people living in an area changes.

Option 2

Change the way the Scottish Parliament looks at proposals from Boundaries Scotland. They will only be able to reject proposals if they think Boundaries Scotland has not properly followed the law.

Option 3

The Scottish Parliament would have to accept the proposals made by Boundaries Scotland. There would be no option for them to be rejected – they would have to become law. This is what happens in the UK and some other countries.

Question 41: Do you think the process for approving boundary changes should be changed, and which Option do you think is the best one:

• No change
• Option 1
• Option 2
• Option 3
• Something else

If you said 'something else above, please tell us about this in the box below:

Question 42: Do you have any further comments on Boundaries Scotland? Please tell us in the box below:

Electoral Commission

Scottish Elections are overseen by the Electoral Commission which is supervised by the UK Parliament. We wonder if the Scottish Parliament should have a bigger role in this.

Question 43: Should the Scottish Parliament have a bigger role in overseeing the Electoral Commission's work in Scottish elections?

• Yes
• No

Question 44: Do you have any further comments on the Electoral Commission's work in Scottish elections? Please tell us in the box below:

Electoral Management Board for Scotland (EMB)

The EMB is an organisation that organises election events across Scotland. The EMB provides leadership and support for Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers. Since they do such a good job, we wonder if they could play a bigger role in Scottish elections.

Question 45: Do you have any further comments on the role of the EMB? Please tell us in the box below:

Question 43: Should there be a Deputy Convener who can take charge if the Convener is unable to do their job?

• Yes
• No