Support for 16 & 17 year olds voting

23rd October 2012

The independent analysis of the Your Scotland, Your Referendum consultation has been published today, outlining the views of thousands of people and groups in a discussion exercise that had the third highest response rate the Scottish Government has seen.

The main purpose of the Your Scotland, Your Referendum consultation was to gather the range and depth of views that individuals and groups have on the set of issues presented in the consultation paper. The main aim of analysis was to identify (qualitatively) the key themes, as well as the full range of issues, raised by respondents in their comments on each question.

The analysis indicates broad support for the Government's proposals on the wording of the question, the timing of the referendum, votes for 16 and 17 years olds, and equitable spending limits. The majority of respondents favoured having just one question on the ballot paper with views more closely balanced on the issue of voting on a Saturday.

Commenting on the publication, Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

"The Edinburgh Agreement, signed by the Scottish and UK governments last week, will ensure that the biggest decision the people of our country will make for many generations is made here in Scotland for the benefit of all of those that live and work here. This will be a referendum designed and delivered by the Scottish Parliament, meeting the highest standards of fairness, transparency and propriety.

"The Government will now consider carefully the responses and the analysis in finalising our Referendum Bill. But we are encouraged that the analysis indicates broad support for the Government's current position on a range of the central issues - particularly votes for 16 and 17 year olds, spending limits, and the proposed question.

"Given the level of support in the consultation responses around extending the franchise, the First Minister has already announced that the Scottish Parliament will be asked to accelerate a bill paving the way for all 16 and 17-year olds to be included on the electoral roll in time for the referendum, so that the legislation is in place by the 2013 summer recess.

"I would like to thank those who took the time to respond to the consultation on the 2014 referendum - the responses will play a key role in shaping the referendum as we move forward. The consultation gathered huge levels of public interest which I hope will continue as we debate and discuss Scotland's future.

"The Scottish Government has an ambitious vision for Scotland: a prosperous and successful European country, reflecting Scottish values of fairness and opportunity, promoting equality and social cohesion. I believe that this vision can only be recognised and achieved with the powers that independence will bring."

Of those who answered each question, the main findings of the analysis are:

64 per cent broadly agreed with the proposed question and design of the ballot paper
62 per cent broadly agreed with the proposed timing of the referendum and voting arrangements
62 per cent want only one question
46 per cent broadly agreed with extending the franchise to a Saturday
56 per cent broadly agreed with extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds
Around 3 in 5 respondents supported either the suggested spending limits or the principle of having spending limits with respondents frequently suggested spending should be equitable and that there must be high levels of transparency and accountability
The timetable which will allow full parliamentary and public consideration:

Public consultation on draft referendum - 25 January 2012
Local Govt elections -3 May 2012
Close consultation - 11 May 2012
Analysis of responses - Summer 2012
Practical preparations, ballot paper testing - Autumn/Winter 2012
Scottish Govt Legislative Programme - Autumn 2012
Finalisation of Referendum Bill & implementation plan - Autumn/Winter 2012
Intro of Referendum Bill - Early 2013
Parliamentary consideration of Bill Stages 1 & 2 - Early to Mid 2013
Summer recess - July to August 2013
Referendum Bill passed after stage 3 - October 2013
Royal Assent to Referendum Bill - November 2013
Publication of white paper - November 2013
European elections - June 2014
Commonwealth games - July 2014
Start of regulation period - Summer 2014
Pre-referendum period (no govt publications etc) - 28 days before referendum
Referendum - Autumn 2014