THE Church of Scotland has offered assurances to members worried about the accuracy of the electronic voting system used in a recent Kirk ballot on gay clergy.

It follows concerns from some presbyteries that the system was flawed and their votes might not have been counted.

The issue arose when some members who took part in the vote at the General Assembly last month received letters refusing their expenses claiming they had not been present. This created concerns that members who had been presented might not have had their votes counted as well.

The Church has now investigated the matter and claims all votes were registered correctly as the systems for voting and registering attendance are separate.

The Kirk also claims that the issue over attendance was down to "user error".

John Cunningham, the clerk at Lewis Presbytery, one of the ministries to raise concerns, said: "We had two commissioners who received letters saying that they hadn't logged in, therefore weren't able to claim expenses, but they had been there and several people could confirm that and we had some concerns that their votes might note have been lodged too.

"We've now had confirmation that the devices were checked and the issue with logging in is down to human error so we're happy with that and we're not pursuing it any further."

A Church of Scotland spokesman refused to confirm exactly how many complaints it had received about the voting system, however it is understood to have been in double figures.

Rev Dr Derek Browning, convener of the Assembly Arrangements Committee, said: "After questions were asked about voting and attendance recording at the 2015 General Assembly, the Assembly Arrangements Committee initiated a thorough review of the technology used.

"Having carried out extensive checks, the Assembly Arrangements Committee is satisfied that the electronic attendance and voting system was fully operational at the General Assembly.

"In relation to queries concerning attendance recording, our conclusion indicates this was down to 'user error'. This may have been caused by commissioners forgetting to register attendance, or pressing more than one button at the same time, or pressing one of the non-number buttons.

"With a view to remedying this problem, the Assembly Arrangements Committee will be recommending that in future years only one specific numbered button will be used to record attendance."

Delegates voted 309 in favour and 183 against allowing congregations to appoint clergy in same-sex civil partnerships.