Proposed Government Bills - Work Programme
The Committee's main role is to scrutinise the two Government Bills that provided the legislative basis for the referendum on independence held on 18 September 2014 - a smaller bill on the franchise, and a larger bill dealing with other aspects of the referendum (including the date, the question and rules on the conduct of the poll). Both Bills were introduced in March 2013, and the Committee was the lead committee for Stage 1 scrutiny, and responsible for taking Stage 2 of each Bill.
The following advisers were appointed to assist the Committee in its work:
Iain Grant, former Deputy Returning Officer for Fife Council
Professor Stephen Tierney, Professor of Constitutional Theory, Edinburgh University and Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Constitutional Law.
Correspondence
At the Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee meeting held on Thursday 17 January 2013 the Committee agreed to write to the Deputy First Minister seeking further information on the planned timing for completion of the referendum bill.
Letter to Deputy First Minister from Convener (17 January 2013):
Reply from Deputy First Minister to Convener (24 January 2013):
At the Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee meeting held on Thursday 13 December 2012 the Committee agreed to write to the Deputy First Minister seeking more detail on the proposed "paving Bill" and the main referendum bill, and on the expected timescales.
Letter to Deputy First Minister from Convener (13 December 2012):
Reply from Deputy First Minister to Convener (14 December 2012):
Additional Information
The Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 received Royal Assent on 31 January 2013. Information on the impact of this legislation is provided in the following paper:
Timetables
At its meeting on 31 January 2013, the Committee finalised its timetable for its scrutiny of the two Government Bills.
On 7 May 2013, the Committee agreed an updated work programme with more detail about its Stage 1 scrutiny of the Referendum Bill.