The SNP government is determined to give 16-year-olds the vote and is demanding that Westminster hand over the power to allow this, it was claimed yesterday.

The minister for parliamentary business told an electoral reform conference yesterday that the government was determined to press ahead with a staged approach, first giving youngsters the right to vote in health board elections and then progressing that to council and Holyrood polls.

But this would require a change in the law at Westminster and there was no indication yesterday that the Ministry of Justice was minded to consider such a change.

Bruce Crawford, Minister for Parliament, told the Electoral Reform Society that ministers had a plan to extend the franchise in order to re-engage young citizens, and avoid the current anomalies faced by young adults.

"The Scottish Government agrees that the lack of consistency with other legal rights on entering adulthood such as paying taxes, getting married or serving in the armed forces, leads young people to believe that their views are not valid or important," he said.

"By denying young people the vote, they become disengaged from the political process at the very point society expects them to engage with their emerging adult status and all the social rights, responsibilities and conditions that society imposes on them.

"The government wishes to address this by giving young people the right to participate in this country's elections."

He pointed out that Brazil, Austria, several German states, and both Jersey and the Isle of Man, have already lowered the voting age, saying: "Later this month ministers will present to Parliament the Health Board (Membership and Elections) Bill.

"We plan that the bill will extend the franchise for the pilot health board elections to include those aged 16 and over. If the government is successful, young people will have their vote in an area in which the Scottish Parliament has competence.

"I would like to extend voting at 16 to local government elections as a next step but, unfortunately, as with so much of Scotland's electoral legislation, reduction of the voting age for elections is a matter reserved to Westminster."

A spokesman later said the government envisaged no particular problem with creating a specific electoral roll for those aged 16 for the proposed health board elections, but this detail would be spelled out in a forthcoming bill.

The Electoral Reform Society yesterday released the results of a survey which showed most councillors favoured last year's change to the voting system and believed local government was more responsive to local people.

Councillors felt the new system made them more hard-working and their work more scrutinised and robust.

But there was a huge disparity between outgoing parties and those who benefited. Labour members hated the new system, while incoming SNP councillors were more positive.