Hansard

Yes—part of the issue is that we must go round and talk to people rather than just waiting until the elections. The way that it is done at present is that a letter pops into people’s houses.

The statistics show that the areas with higher levels of deprivation or transient populations have much lower registration levels than more affluent, stable communities. There is an issue around targeting communities in which there is low turnout and low registration. There is a real democratic deficit in that regard, and we must all consider it. There is good practice in some local authorities, but that must be applied across the country.

We have all been in the polling station when somebody has turned up who cannot vote because they are not on the most recent register. I am keen to hear what the minister will do to encourage registration.

In our debate last week, we talked about lowering the voting age. However, we know that the turnout for elections among younger people is lower than the turnout among people in older age groups. I therefore ask the minister what in particular will be done to focus on younger people and to make local government elections relevant to them. Access to affordable housing, jobs and training, and local sports facilities are all issues that are dealt with by local government, and there is a huge opportunity to engage young people. There is a great line in the film about Aung San Suu Kyi that has just come out, called “The Lady”:

“You may not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you.”

We must get that message across to young people.

Many people are also concerned about the move to individual registration. There could be a duty to promote registration, so that all local authorities would see that as a key issue.

As has been said, everything needs to be in place six months before the elections. A key issue for all elections or referenda is that we need to know the rules in advance. In his speech to Parliament in October 2007, the First Minister stated that the Scottish Government accepted all the Gould recommendations, one of which was about what parties call themselves and the issue of sloganising. In his summing-up speech, will Derek Mackay, who is the SNP’s campaign manager, be able to tell us what name the SNP will be flying its flag under this time? The spirit of that recommendation was not applied in the Scottish Parliament elections last year.

What will be the outcome of today’s debate? The elections are vital and there is real irony in the fact that the party that is demanding more powers for the Scottish Parliament is sooking up powers from local government to here, whether through the new Forth Estuary Transport Authority board, the new education quango or whatever. Local authorities are worried that their financial straitjacket means that they will be responsible for delivering on the ground what the SNP decides here. That is an issue that we need to debate. Local government should remain local; it should be accountable for local service provision. Local councils exist solely to provide local services to meet local needs and suit local circumstances, accepting the fact that collective provision will always be more effective than individuals trying to look after themselves, particularly in a recession.

Those of us who are party animals take knowing how to vote for granted, but we must ensure that there are proper systems in place to encourage ordinary voters. I am keen to hear more from the minister about the resources that are being allocated to ensuring that that happens. We also take for granted the conduct of the elections. I welcome the fact that we have been able to focus on that today. It is highly appropriate that we acknowledge the work of the thousands of staff throughout the country who do the hard work on the day of the elections and, afterwards, during the count to ensure that our democracy is a real democracy.

I ask the minister to give us a bit more detail about awareness raising and the distribution of promotional literature to ensure that the voters—the people who really matter—know when the elections will take place; how to register; how to vote in a polling station; how to get to the polling station if they have a physical disability; and how the postal vote system works. As the minister said, we must ensure that the elections are democratic and that as many people as possible who are registered and eligible to vote actually turn out and vote.

I move amendment S4M-01741.2, to leave out from “and participation” to end and insert:

“, registration and participation, and notes the valuable role of the Electoral Commission in helping to ensure fair, open and transparent elections and good practice in this regard.”

09:43