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That will be the responsibility of individual returning officers, but through engagement with the Electoral Commission. Having had dialogue with the Electoral Management Board and those who represent this community, I think that that is well understood and that they take the responsibility very seriously indeed. The understanding of what is required for that group will come about through engagement with those who have practical lived experience and with the organisations that represent them. That is my expectation, and it is taken seriously by those involved in administering elections.

That speaks to the point that we have consulted on a number of other issues that are not included in the order. There will always be a continuous process. Indeed, there will be another order for the 2027 local government elections. If we are informed by individuals’ practical experience and if other concerns are raised, we will, of course, consult on that and make further changes.

With regard to postal votes, right now, we rely on the signature of the individual who is returning the postal vote to ensure that it has been cast in accordance with expectation and electoral law. I am afraid that there will always be a limit to how much oversight is possible of how that is done in the home or wherever a person might fill out their postal vote form. That is a practicality that will not always be accounted for, but, if more can be done, we should reflect on that.

We will also give further consideration to the point about the number of people who an assistant can help in the polling station. Right now, the number is two. There are good reasons for that, in order to account for the very concern that you are thinking about. Equally, we have heard that it could be helpful for those who work as carers to be able to undertake the role for a slightly larger number of people. It is a question of getting the balance right. We will give that further consideration.

That is a legitimate point. That would represent a fairly big change. I understand that we could say that that would ensure absolute impartiality, but we must also reflect on whether that is what the individual who casts their vote wants—they might want it to be someone they know and trust. A balance needs to be struck. I can earnestly say that I have not heard that cited as a significant area of concern. If that was to emerge as an issue, we would need to reflect on that.

Yes, broadly speaking, I am content. Such things are borne out by practical experience, which is the point that I made to Ms Roddick. If a concern emerged, we would need to reflect on it.

At this stage, I see nothing that causes significant concern. It makes sense to take an adaptable and flexible approach rather than having to come back to specify each form or method of assistance at each election by introducing an order. The expectation is—all the evidence points to this—that such things will be subject to consultation. There is no sense that the community of those who administer elections wants to do anything other than maximise votes and help the greatest number of people to cast them.

I understand that such things are a concern. An attempt is always made to ensure that everything comes through as quickly as possible. Ultimately, that is always a challenge, because officials work on multiple things at any given time, and only so many people can do such work. We always try to ensure that things are provided in enough time to ensure that they are adequately and properly scrutinised. If there are any particular concerns, we are happy to reflect on them.

I had a wry smile on my face, because I am increasingly less and less inclined to view myself as a young person. All we can do is engage with the widest range of organisations that represent young people and, through those bodies, engage with young people. I will never be satisfied with a process that simply allows organisations to speak for young people. They play a role and we will listen to that voice, but let us try to use those organisations that have the greatest range of engagement with young people to actually speak to young people themselves. That would be what I would want to do, and there is a commitment to do that on an on-going basis.

It goes back to the point that I made in my opening remarks about the provision that we have made for those who were looked-after children to be able to register on the basis of a local connection. That was directly influenced by one young person engaging directly with my predecessor, and I hope that that demonstrates that we put such measures in place.

Can we do better? We probably can. The issue is the age-old challenge of how we reach out to those whom we find it hard to reach. We must always try to do as much as we can, and the Government is committed to doing so. We are talking about young people in this specific instance, but there are plenty of other cohorts of people about whom we could say the same.

He has stolen your question, you mean.

Broadly speaking, yes. There is the remotest of possibilities—an outside chance—but I think that that is very unlikely. I have been seeking to engage with the UK Government on the matter. In the first instance, I am very grateful to Tracy Gilbert for taking forward the private members’ bill, but I have been clear at all stages that my preference would have been for that to be devolved to Scotland through a section 30 order. I am confident that, on that basis, we would have been able to legislate for those provisions and put them in place in time for the 2026 election.

However, we have had to rely on the UK Parliament, and the bill has been caught up in the UK Parliament because of its byzantine processes, which you will understand a lot better than I do, convener, as you were a Member of Parliament. That is very unfortunate, and that situation could have been avoided. I am seeking to engage with a wide range of people to, at the very least, express frustration and say that I hope that lessons are learned. I also spoke to Jane Bryant, my counterpart in the Welsh Government, which is also having to grapple with the issue.

That was a long way of saying that, yes, broadly speaking, you are correct.

That is why I said that there is the remotest of possibilities. The Gould period begins on 7 November, so the likelihood of Tracy Gilbert’s private members’ bill getting royal assent in time for the election is very remote indeed. It is possible, but it is on the upper end of an outside chance. That was a longer way of saying that I have more or less made a decision that it is not going to be possible. I will communicate that shortly.

I want to make that clear to the committee. I do not want the committee to feel that I have not informed it that we are laying regulations on Monday to take account of some of the concerns and to ensure that those who have a postal ballot for the Scottish Parliament election will have an extended time to cast it. We do not want to get caught up in any of the confusion that might otherwise arise.

I do not want to mislead the committee, so I will ask Iain to answer that.