This consultation paper invites views on the proposals for how the referendum would be run. A draft Scottish Independence Referendum bill is set out as an appendix to the document.
referendum
SWOP meeting – June 2014
We had most enjoyable SWOP meeting today at the Scottish Parliament building. The meeting was followed by an interesting presentation by Francesca McGrath, Senior Researcher at the Scottish Parliament. Francesca showed us the Scottish Parliament Information Centre’s Referendum Hub
In the run up to the referendum there has been a lot of information produced by a variety of commentators on all sides of the debate. Material on the Referendum Hub site has been selected by impartial researchers within the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), who have made every effort to ensure both sides of the debate are fairly represented.
More details on the content of the Referendum Hub can be found here: Referendum Hub
Referendum hub
Results from UK Government Consultation on Scottish Independence
In January this year the UK Government published a consultation document to gather public opinion on the proposal by the Scottish National Party (SNP) to hold a referendum on Scottish independence. The consultation was open until Friday 9th March and gathered views from all members of the UK public.
On the 4th of April the UK Government published a command paper (Cm. 8326) summarising the 2,857 responses to the consultation. This document is available on-line from the Scotland Office by clicking the following link:-
Scotland’s Constitutional Future: Responses to the Consultation
Some notable results from the UK Government consultation are as follows:-
- 75% of respondents agreed with the position of the UK Government that there should be a single question on Scotland’s constitutional status
- 70% of respondents agreed with the UK Government that the referendum should take place sooner rather than later
- 44% of respondents were in favour of the Scottish Government proposal that 16-17 year-olds be allowed to vote in the referendum, with 47% against
The ongoing Scottish Government consultation on the question of Scottish independence will run until Friday 11th May and can found at the following link:-
Scottish Government leads the way!
Referendum consultation in Ebook format
The Scottish Government will become the first administration in the UK to make an official publication available in digital download format for devices such as iPad and Kindle, after it was confirmed the Your Scotland, Your Referendum consultation will be issued as an eBook.
The latest development will now act as a pilot scheme for future digital distribution of Scottish Government documents, an initiative that will improve access to important public files and could drive down print costs as more and more people in Scotland rely on digital devices for published material.
SWOP Forum 