A committee of MSPs has said council chiefs should not receive extra payments for acting as returning officers during elections.

Local authority chief executives can currently receive extra payments worth thousands of pounds for overseeing elections in their areas.

Holyrood's Local Government and Communities Committee said the system lacks transparency and could impact people's views on the integrity of the process.

An inquiry report found the committee was "not persuaded that the current system of remuneration is commensurate" with the workload and responsibilities of the role.

The MSPs noted it was vital the role remain "independent and outwith political control."

Convener Bob Doris MSP, said: "Our committee has found that the current system of payments to returning officers is lacking transparency, which could have an impact on people's views on the integrity of the system.

"There is a lack of transparency around the value of these payments and how they are allocated, however we heard that payments can range from £2500 in Orkney and Shetland to over £16,000 in Edinburgh and may reportedly be worth as much £1m in total.

"We believe that all costs associated with elections should be processed around the principles of openness and transparency if the public are to have confidence in how our elections are run."

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Scottish Ministers are grateful to the Local Government and Communities Committee for its detailed work into the issues around payments to returning officers.

"We will take its conclusions into consideration as part of our forthcoming consultation on electoral reform, which will consider overall arrangements for elections to ensure they represent the best possible value for money."

A spokesman for Glasgow's returning officer Annemarie O'Donnel said: "The first priority of any returning officer is to protect the integrity of the election process.

"This particular part of the process has not been evaluated for a number of years and, as Mrs O'Donnell said in her evidence to committee, returning officers will be happy to participate in any review that helps builds public confidence in how elections are run."