Electronic counting of elections is set to continue, despite the computerised system's contribution to the fiasco of last year's Holyrood elections.

The Scottish Government wants to continue using the ballot form scanners, but admits public confidence will require better preparation.

Ministers eventually want to introduce the same complex counting system for Holyrood as introduced for councils last year, and that would require e-counting for Holyrood too.

After a by-election in South Lanarkshire was stalled earlier this month by computer problems, it was conceded that manual counting is better in by-elections, given the smaller number of votes cast.

The decision forms part of the response from Parliament Minister Bruce Crawford to the Gould report into last year's election debacle, in which nearly 150,000 Holyrood and 40,000 council ballot forms were counted as spoiled, while computers jammed and results were delayed.

With improved design, testing and project management, the official response said: "The Scottish Government believes that electronic counting can successfully and reliably be used at future local government elections in Scotland. It will continue to encourage the use of electronic counting."

Mr Crawford has indicated he favours the recommendation by Canadian elections expert Ron Gould that votes can be cast at one polling station in the two weeks before the election.

While Scottish ministers are undecided on many of the recommendations from Gould, there is a hint that they favour the postponement of vote counts until the day after elections instead of overnight, saying the accuracy of the count is of "the utmost importance".

There was also a concession that the SNP's device to put "Alex Salmond for First Minister" at the top of Holyrood's regional list will not be possible again.

The Scottish Government accepts registered party names must appear most prominently, and descriptions below that should be "preferably without using specific individuals' names".

The most decisive element of Mr Crawford's response was to split future Holyrood elections from council ones, with legislation planned for next year. As disclosed last weekend, the Scottish Government's preference is for the next council election to take place in 2012, a year after Holyrood, and again in 2017, then settling into a pattern of elections every four years, alternating every two years with the Scottish Parliament.

The proposal warns this could make the council elections into a mid-term test of future Holyrood administration's popularity.

It opens up other possible ways of splitting the votes, including having a council ballot in the November following Holyrood's election.

The Scottish Government also wants to pick up Gould's idea of a chief returning officer for Scotland, but warns that would only be logical if that person handles all elections, and Whitehall ministers continue to set policy for both Holyrood and Westminster elections.

The SNP wants the Scotland Office to accept the recommendation that one administration should be responsible for all elections.