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Thank you. Do members have any questions?

That concludes the public part of the meeting.

I am grateful for that answer.

Thank you for that.

Thank you. My final question on the subject is whether you have concerns that nationals from the same country who are resident in Scotland will have different candidacy rights entirely on the basis of their immigration status.

Thank you, minister. That is a very brave offer.

I will kick off with a couple of general questions. The reference is, in essence, made to treaties that exist between the UK Government and other countries around Europe. Some of those treaties are not yet in force. Are you concerned that there may be a situation in which the bill comes into force but the treaty is not in force to trigger the rights, or are you confident that that will not happen? I am given to understand that the UK Government is waiting for alignment across our four nations before finalising the treaties.

Therefore, you are still confident that using the bill as the vehicle for delivery is the right way to go.

At the moment, the responsibility for whether a candidate can stand rests with the candidate, who signs the declaration, and the returning officer relies on that declaration to say that the candidate can go forward. I am wondering whether you have confidence in that system.

The letter from Stuart McMillan was dated 1 March. I will put your civil servants on the spot. They have requested an answer by 8 March—will that be achievable?

That is very helpful.

In looking at the bill, a question has been raised about who is responsible for ensuring that the candidate can lawfully stand. At the moment, my understanding is that, in the election process, when an individual comes forward, the only authority that a returning officer for an area requires is the declaration that the candidate signs to say that they can stand as a candidate. Are you happy with that process going forward? To extend that question slightly, might you be looking at that with regard to the elections bill that is anticipated towards the end of this parliamentary session?