Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025

Pilot for registration of electors

40 Registration of electors pilot provision: power to make temporary provision

(1) This section applies where a proposal has been made in accordance with section 41.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make temporary provision about the registration of electors (“registration of electors pilot provision”).

(3) A registration of electors pilot provision is a provision that—

(a) relates to the registration of persons in a register of local government electors maintained under section 9(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 for any area in Scotland,

(b) has effect for a specified period,

(c) applies in relation to a register of local government electors for a local government area or parts of local government areas, and

(d) is either—

(i) not in relevant Scottish elections legislation,

(ii) different from provision in relevant Scottish elections legislation, or

(iii) connected to provision of the kind specified in sub-paragraph (i) or (ii).

(4) A registration of electors pilot provision—

(a) may (in particular) include provision about—

(i) the rights and duties of individuals as regards registration,

(ii) the administration of registration and registers of local government electors,

(iii) access to and publication of registers of local government electors,

(iv) any other matter which relates to action to be taken, or procedure to be carried out, as regards registration,

(b) may also include provision about the processing of information for and in connection with any matter as regards registration, which may (in particular)—

(i) authorise or require a person or description of persons to provide information to such other persons or descriptions of persons, in such form and in such circumstances as may be specified,

(ii) authorise the Scottish Ministers (and any persons acting on their behalf) to provide information to such other persons or descriptions of persons, in such form and in such circumstances as may be specified,

(c) may not include provision about a person’s entitlement to be registered in a register of local government electors for any local authority area.

(5) Regulations under subsection (2) must specify the day before which the Electoral Commission must send its report under section 42.

(6) Regulations under subsection (2) may—

(a) make different provision for different purposes, areas, persons or categories of persons,

(b) make consequential, supplementary, incidental, transitional or saving provision,

(c) modify any enactment.

(7) If the regulations under subsection (2) make provision modifying any enactment, the regulations must provide for the modifications to cease to have effect at the end of such period as is specified (and different periods may be specified in relation to different modifications).

(8) In this section—

• “processing” is to be construed in accordance with section 3(4) of the Data Protection Act 2018,

• “relevant Scottish elections legislation” means an enactment that applies in relation to the registration of persons in a register of local government electors for the purpose of entitling that person to vote in—

  (a)

  an election for membership of the Scottish Parliament,

  (b)

  a local government election in Scotland,

• “specified” means specified in, or determined under, regulations under subsection (2).

(9) Regulations under subsection (2) are subject to the negative procedure.

41 Proposals for registration of electors pilot provision

(1) A registration of electors pilot provision under section 40 may be proposed by—

(a) the Scottish Ministers after consulting—

(i) the Electoral Commission,

(ii) the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, and

(iii) such other persons as they consider appropriate, or

(b) a person mentioned in subsection (2) submitting a proposal to the Scottish Ministers.

(2) The persons are—

(a) the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, if the Board has consulted the Electoral Commission,

(b) a local authority if—

(i) the proposed pilot relates to a register of local government electors in the authority’s area, and

(ii) the authority has consulted—

(A) the Electoral Commission, and

(B) the Electoral Management Board for Scotland,

(c) an electoral registration officer if—

(i) the proposed pilot relates to a register of electors for the local government areas or parts of local government areas included in the area for which the officer acts, and

(ii) the officer has consulted—

(A) the Electoral Commission, and

(B) the Electoral Management Board for Scotland.

(3) A person who may make a proposal under subsection (1)(b) may make the proposal jointly with one or more other persons making a proposal under that subsection.

(4) Any duty to consult a person with whom the person makes a joint proposal does not apply.

(5) Where a pilot is proposed by a person (or persons acting jointly) mentioned in subsection (2) the proposal and the proposed pilot may be approved by the Scottish Ministers either without modification or with such modifications as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

(6) A registration of electors pilot provision may only be made where, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers or, in the case where a pilot is the subject of a proposal by a person (or persons acting jointly) mentioned in subsection (2), the person or persons who proposed that pilot, that provision is likely to—

(a) facilitate registration by any persons or any particular description of persons, or

(b) encourage more persons, or more persons of a particular description, to register.

(7) The Scottish Ministers—

(a) may, in order to inform their consideration of a proposal submitted to them under subsection (1)(b) and how they might deal with it, consult such persons as they think appropriate,

(b) must, before making any modification in accordance with subsection (5) consult the Electoral Management Board for Scotland and, if the proposal was not submitted by the Board, the person (or persons acting jointly) who submitted the proposal.

(8) In this section and in section 42 “electoral registration officer” means an officer appointed under section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983.

42 Evaluation of registration of electors pilot provision by Electoral Commission

(1) The Electoral Commission must prepare a report on the operation of a registration of electors pilot provision made by regulations under section 40(2) before the day specified under subsection (5) of that section (or such later date as the Commission and the Scottish Ministers may agree).

(2) The report must contain, in particular—

(a) a description of the way in which the provision made by the regulations differed from the provisions which would otherwise have applied (including, for example, by virtue of the Representation of the People Act 1983),

(b) a copy of the registration of electors pilot provision,

(c) an assessment of the success or otherwise of the pilot provision in—

(i) facilitating registration by any persons or any particular description of persons, or

(ii) encouraging more persons, or more persons of a particular description, to register,

(d) the arrangements made under the regulations to assist disabled persons (within the meaning of section 6(2) of the Equality Act 2010) to register,

(e) an assessment of whether persons found the procedures for registration easy to use,

(f) an assessment of whether the procedures provided under the regulations led to any incidence of, or increase in, impersonation or other electoral offences or in any other malpractice in connection with elections,

(g) an assessment of whether provision similar to that made by the regulations should apply generally, and on a permanent basis, in relation to the registration of persons in a register of local government electors maintained under section 9(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 for all areas in Scotland,

(h) any other matter relating to the registration of electors pilot provision as the Scottish Ministers may direct.

(3) In preparing the report, the Electoral Commission may consult such persons as they think appropriate.

(4) The Electoral Commission must, before the day specified under section 40(5) (or such later date as the Commission and the Scottish Ministers may agree)—

(a) send a copy of the report to—

(i) the Scottish Ministers,

(ii) any local authority in whose area the registration of electors pilot provision relates,

(iii) the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, and

(iv) where the pilot was proposed by an electoral registration officer under section 41(1)(b), that officer, and

(b) publish the report in such manner as they think fit.

43 Power to permanently modify provision about registration of electors

(1) The power in subsection (3) applies if—

(a) the Scottish Ministers consider, in the light of a report made under section 42 on the operation of registration of electors pilot provision, that it would be desirable to achieve the reform outcome described in subsection (2) (“the reform outcome”), and

(b) the Electoral Commission recommends making regulations under this section to achieve the reform outcome.

(2) The reform outcome is for provision similar to that made by a registration of electors pilot provision to apply generally, and on a permanent basis, in relation to the registration of persons in a register of local government electors maintained under section 9(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 for all areas in Scotland.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provision for or in connection with the registration of persons in a register of local government electors to achieve the reform outcome.

(4) Before laying a draft of a Scottish statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (3), the Scottish Ministers must consult—

(a) the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, and

(b) such other persons as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

(5) Subsections (4), (6) and (8) of section 40 apply to regulations made under subsection (3) as they apply to regulations made under subsection (2) of that section.

(6) When laying a draft of a Scottish statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (3), the Scottish Ministers must also lay before the Scottish Parliament a copy of the report prepared by the Electoral Commission under section 42.

(7) Nothing in this section affects the other powers of the Scottish Ministers to make provision for or in connection with the registration of persons in a register of local government electors.

(8) Regulations under subsection (3) are subject to the affirmative procedure.