Official Report 549KB pdf
Statutory Guidance on Imprints for Non-party Campaigners at Scottish Parliamentary Elections and Council Elections in Scotland (SG 2025/215) [Draft]
Our second item of business is consideration of a document that is subject to the negative procedure and that has been referred to this committee for scrutiny on policy grounds.
Questions about the actual rules on imprint would need to be decided on by the Electoral Commission, and the role of this committee is in relation to either accepting or not accepting the guidance.
For clarity on procedure, any MSP may propose, by motion, that the lead committee recommend that the document not be approved. We are the lead committee for this document. If such a motion is lodged, it must be debated at a meeting of the committee, and the committee must then report to the Parliament. If there is no motion recommending that the document not be approved, the committee is not required to report to Parliament on the document.
I invite comments from members on the guidance that is before us.
There are multiple issues with this guidance. I am not happy with the position—of either take it or leave it—that the committee has been put in, so I would like to move a motion to take this to a vote.
Thank you for that. A member has indicated that she will propose a motion, which we will need to debate. That debate cannot happen today, because the motion has not been lodged, but it will take place at the next public meeting of the committee.
Since no other member wishes to make a comment at this stage, I will adjourn the matter until the next public meeting of this committee, when we will see whether a member has lodged a motion.
That concludes our business in public.
09:35 Meeting continued in private until 09:45.