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Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) (Amendment) Order 2009

Surely the order is to be welcomed. How are the Scottish ballot papers devised? How are they made up? How are they formulated? Can my noble friend offer any details of the process, because it is clear that that process was greatly deficient ahead of one particular national ballot? I do not think that such a ballot paper would have got by in Wales, but that is neither here nor there in this debate. The helpful Explanatory Memorandum refers to erroneous references and superfluous references. In his capacity of representing the Scottish Office, can the Minister say whether the officials who devised the most bewildering of ballot papers have in any way been called to account? In the history of elections, constituency and regional, those who devised such ballot papers were surely the subject of some censure. How did chaotic papers such as these get past scrutiny? Were the returning officers involved? Did the Minister of the day see the ballot papers in their draft? I hope that these questions may lead to further information.