Seòmar agus comataidhean

I ask Iain Hockenhull to answer that.

I have been led to believe so, but we will hear from Iain Hockenhull if he has to tell me otherwise.

I pass that question to Iain Hockenhull.

Convener, you highlight helpfully the complexities of trying to legislate for prisoner voting. As I have said, it is about a small number of people, and it is quite difficult and challenging for us to do. You have highlighted that perfectly, convener.

I will just reiterate that with regard to this issue, so that we do not have to go through the whole process again. I am quite happy to say that we will look at that after the next election, too. We will consider the data that we have and take it from there.

On the whole, it should be the same throughout Scotland. It is probably our job to ensure that returning officers in every area are aware of that and that everyone gets the same training. I know where you are coming from, convener. As someone who has been part of the electoral process, I know that things can differ from area to area depending on the staffing.

The difficulty that we have is that, if we look at the Scottish elections and think about some of the things that did not work out and the issues that we have been discussing today, we can see how different they were compared with others. I cannot guarantee what will happen with Covid between now and May next year, so I cannot say that those elections will not happen under the same pressures. However, it is down to us to ensure that all returning officers are aware that these are the key priorities and that they need to make sure that all their staff and everyone who works on the elections are aware that this is what we want to do.

As you suggested, there is a difficult situation, and it is constantly moving. I do not like to submit last-minute SSIs to the committee unless doing so is completely necessary. I believe that in this case it is. Whenever possible, we will try to ensure that the committee is sighted on issues well in advance.

As you have already said, convener, it is important to have clarity in legislation. I know that there have, during the past year, been difficulties with definitions of various things. Sometimes, that is unavoidable, both in political debate and in the legal realms. At all times, we have tried to ensure that legislation is clear and understandable. It is extremely important that I do that on every occasion and that we try to introduce legislation that is as clear as possible.

As I mentioned, a couple of issues have arisen in relation to the definition of concepts, which has caused some confusion. I have no simple solution—there is no simple solution—to the problem, but as the responsible minister I will strive to make everything as clear as possible. The simpler we make everything, the easier we will all get on. I am a great believer in that point of view.

I know about this issue, because the committee brought it up with my officials at its recent business planning session. I am happy to give an undertaking that, as part of our profile for future legislation, we will seek to identify significant packages of SSIs for implementation on particular legislation. I can also provide some information today. A package of seven SSIs to implement the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 will be lodged between September and November. In addition, the implementation of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 will see three SSIs in October and three in November; the implementation of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 will see two SSIs in November, with more to follow; and the implementation of the Forensic Medical Services (Victims of Sexual Offences) (Scotland) Act 2021 will begin in January 2022.

As I said, I was aware that the committee had an issue in that regard, but my officials were able to come to me and give me that detail so that I could bring the information to the committee. That goes back to what I said earlier, in that the more that we can have an open and frank discussion, the more that there will be matters that I can deal with in order to give the committee the information that it needs.

I am quite happy to do that and to try to give you the detail.