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We will move on to Paul McLennan.

Before you do that, I have a question for Chris Highcock. On a day when two elections are being run separately but in the same building, someone could present 25 postal votes for a local election, but could be refused for a UK-wide general election. Do you have confidence that that could be defended satisfactorily?

I am inviting you to repeat what I thought was your view on an earlier matter—that you would have confidence that, from the point of view of the individual polling clerks, the votes could be accepted for the Scottish local election but refusal to take the votes for the UK-wide election could be defended.

If no one else wants to comment, do you want to come back in, Edward?

I will pass over to Edward Mountain for questions on another area.

The question concerned the fact that the bill is moving away from a prescribed set of technology that should be available to assist people to cast their vote to a test of what it would be reasonable to provide. Do you think that that is an improvement or a detriment?

Pete Wildman, I want to ask about a scenario that came to mind for which I am not sure what the answer is. Due to differences in electoral systems, there is the possibility that we would have a UK-wide general election taking place under the rules that are proposed in the bill, as well as a Scottish election—most probably a local authority election. If a voter attended with some ID that the clerk declared to be false, they could not issue a vote in respect of the UK general election. What pressure would that put on the clerk to refuse the vote in the Scottish election?

Under agenda item 2, the committee is invited to agree to take in private at future meetings consideration of the evidence heard, and its draft report, on the Elections Bill. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

Item 3 is evidence taking on a piece of proposed United Kingdom Parliament legislation—the Elections Bill. I am grateful to those who join us to give evidence. Louise Edwards, who is director of regulation at the Electoral Commission in Scotland, joins us remotely, while Chris Highcock from the Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Dr Alistair Clark from Newcastle University and Pete Wildman from the Scottish Assessors Association join us in person.

We are quite tight for time today, so although you should feel free to answer any question, if you do not have anything to say in respect of the question that has been asked, you need not feel that you have to answer. Thank you all for joining us.

I hand over to Bob Doris, who has the first block of questions—questions 1 and 2 in our papers—although I realise that other members may want to come in.

Who would like to kick off?