§ Sir Robert Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the proposed bill to retain the current number of Members in the Scottish Parliament will be drafted to allow consideration of the method of election used for the Scottish Parliament. [140737]
§ Mrs. McGuire:The scope of the bill, which was introduced on 27 November, is a matter for the House Authorities. However, as the bill deals only with the determination of the number of constituencies and regions of the Scottish Parliament, the number of regional members per region and the arrangements for reviewing the boundaries of constituencies and regions, my understanding is that consideration of the method of election to the Scottish Parliament will be outside its scope.