Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the effect on democratic participation of the extension of the franchise in the Scottish independence referendum to 16 and 17 year olds.

It was inspirational to see the level of engagement in Scotland during the independence debate. Following the vote to remain within the United Kingdom, and in line with Smith recommendations, we devolved the power for the Scottish Parliament to legislate to reduce the minimum voting age to 16 at Scottish Parliament and local government elections.