Chamber and committees

Of course. I have just a couple. Good morning, minister and officials.

I will follow on from Bob Doris’s line of questioning, on electoral pilots and democratic engagement. Minister, do you believe that the provisions in the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002 on electoral pilots are sufficient to allow for pilots on electoral registration? Bob spoke about randomised ballot papers. Do you support automatic voter registration?

I have a final question. The Scottish Government’s consultation on electoral reform included a proposal to amend the rule that requires a specific form of tactile voting device to be provided at polling stations. Such an amendment could allow for flexibility in the future, but no proposal is included in the bill. Is work continuing on that?

Thank you for that. We have heard about 20 per cent of people not being registered to vote. That is, indeed, something that we can look into. We have also heard that people’s Young Scot card or national insurance number, for instance, could be used for registration. Are any electoral pilots actively under consideration by the Scottish Government at the moment?

I will be as quick as I can be with my next question.

The bill gives ministers the power to spend on democratic engagement, but no funding has been identified for that. Can you explain that approach and give any further information on when, and at what level, funding is likely to be available?

I would like to go back to Professor O’Connor. You spoke about the distress brief intervention programme, and I have just been reading up on it. Can we do more to let people know that it is there? I have lost someone to suicide—not a personal friend but a friend of the family—and it is their funeral today. I do not think that enough was done in their case, and I do not think that the person or their family knew where to go for help and support. Can we do more with that?

Thank you.

Good morning. I will focus on monitoring and evaluation of the strategy. Is the evaluation plan that is detailed in the outcomes framework adequate, or should there be any additions or changes to the plan?

It is good news that that is being worked through just now. I will follow up on that with my next question. Some respondents to our call for views said that focusing on the reduction in suicide deaths as an overall measure is perhaps not the right way to do it. Should we look at broadening measurement of the strategy’s success?

Thanks very much.

I will move to a question for Alice Kinghorn-Gray. How important do you think digital imprints are for transparency for the electorate? We have had quite a lot of discussion about that, so I will put you on the spot on it.