The Referendums Scotland Bill Team: FOI release

Information requested

Details of the number of civil servants that are part of the Referendums Scotland Bill Team.

Details of the remit of the Referendums Scotland Bill Team. (e.g. description of the main duties of the team, key roles of the team and/or otherwise)

Response

The Referendums Scotland Bill Team was established in 2019 to deliver the Referendums (Scotland) Bill, now the Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020.

Prior to 18 March 2020, work regarding planning for the application of the Referendums (Scotland) Act to an independence referendum, such as liaison with the Electoral Commission on question testing, was being coordinated by a team of three civil servants in the Scottish Government’s Constitution and Cabinet Directorate who form the Referendums (Scotland) Bill Team. Since the pausing of that work in March 2020, two team members have been working primarily on Covid legislation and guidance and the other on elections policy.

The duties of the team, as was correct in March 2020, focussed on the implementation of the Referendums (Scotland) Act 2020 including commissioning guidance for electoral administrators, development of policy and legislation to update the referendums franchise following the passage of the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act and liaising with the Electoral Commission regarding question testing.

As the team have been primarily working on Covid legislation/guidance and elections policy since March, the duties have not been updated since March.

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