The Health Board Elections (Scotland) Regulations 2009

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Health Board Elections (Scotland) Regulations 2009.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 12th October 2009.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the 1978 Act” means the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;

“the 1983 Act” means the Representation of the People Act 1983(1);

“the 2000 Act” means the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000(2);

“absent voter” has the meaning given by rule 7(3);

“absent voters list” has the meaning given by rule 8(1);

“adjudicator” has the meaning given by rule 11(2);

“appointed member” has the meaning given by paragraph 2(1)(a) of Schedule 1 to the 1978 Act(3);

“ballot paper” means a ballot paper as described in rule 22;

“candidate statement” is a statement in terms of rule 14(2);

“councillor member” has the meaning given by paragraph 2(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to the 1978 Act;

“the count” has the meaning given by rule 32(1)(a);

“counting agent” means a person appointed under rule 20;

“elected member” has the meaning given by paragraph 2(1)(c) of Schedule 1 to the 1978 Act;

“election” means a Health Board election;

“election court” has the meaning given by section 202(1) of the 1983 Act(4);

“election day” means the day on which a Health Board election is held;

“election notice” has the meaning given by rule 4(1);

“election petition” means a petition presented under Part 3 of the 1983 Act as that Part is applied to Health Board elections by regulation 6;

“electoral area” has the meaning given by section 204(1) of the 1983 Act(5);

“Health Board” means a Health Board constituted under section 2(1)(a) of the 1978 Act(6);

“Health Board election” has the meaning given by paragraph 1 of Schedule 1A to the 1978 Act;

“local government area” has the meaning given by section 204(1) of the 1983 Act(7);

“nomination period” has meaning given by rule 1;

“register of local government electors” means a register maintained under section 9(1)(b) of the 1983 Act(8);

“registration officer” means an officer appointed in accordance with section 8 of the 1983 Act(9);

“relevant registration officer” has the meaning given by rule 6;

“returning officer” means the returning officer for a Health Board election in terms of rule 2;

“voter” means an individual entitled to vote at a Health Board election in terms of paragraph 9 of Schedule 1A to the 1978 Act and rule 5; and

“voting pack” is a pack described in rule 21(2).

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered rule is a reference to the rule set out in the Schedule.

Date of first elections in pilot areas

3.  The first election in each Health Board area to which the Health Boards (Membership and Elections) (Scotland) Act 2009 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2009(10) applies is to be held on 10th June 2010.

Health Board election rules

4.  The Schedule contains rules applying to Health Board elections.

Identification of unelected candidate to fill vacancy

5.—(1) For the purposes of paragraph 11(2)(b) of Schedule 1A to the 1978 Act, the “unelected candidate” who is to be invited to fill a vacancy is the individual who was credited at the last stage of the count at which a candidate was deemed to be elected with the greatest number of votes amongst the candidates who were not elected.

(2) If that individual does not accept the invitation to be an elected member, the invitation may be extended to the individual with the next greatest number of votes at that stage.

(3) If two or more individuals were credited with the same number of votes, being the greatest or next greatest number of votes as specified in paragraph (1) or (2), the individual to be invited to fill the vacancy is to be determined by lot.

(4) If no individual fulfils the criteria specified in paragraph (1), (2) or (3) the Scottish Ministers may appoint an individual to fill the vacancy provided that individual would be qualified to be a candidate at a Health Board election in terms of rule 10(1) and would not be disqualified from being a candidate in terms of rule 10(2).

Application of Part 3 of the 1983 Act

6.  Part 3 of the 1983 Act applies to a Health Board election as it applies to an election of councillors in Scotland(11) subject to the following modifications—

(a)any reference to—

(i)an election under the local government Act; or

(ii)a local government election (except for the reference in the definition of “elective office” in section 185),

is to be read as a reference to a Health Board election;

(b)any reference to—

(i)a local authority (except for the reference in the definition of “public office” in section 185); or

(ii)an authority,

is to be read as a reference to a Health Board;

(c)any reference to an election agent is to be read as a reference to a counting agent appointed under rule 20;

(d)any reference to councillors is to be read as a reference to elected Health Board members, with the exception of the reference in the definition of “public office”;

(e)for section 138 substitute—

“138.—(1) In the case of an election petition questioning a Health Board election, two or more candidates may be made respondents to the same petition, and their cases may be tried at the same time, but for the purposes of this Part of this Act the petition shall be deemed to be a separate petition against each respondent.

(2) Where two or more election petitions are presented relating to the same Health Board election they shall be tried together.”;

(f)in section 147(2), for “constituency or local government area” substitute “Health Board area”;

(g)in section 159(3), for “councillor of any local authority in Scotland” substitute “member of any Health Board”;

(h)for section 160(4), substitute–

“(4) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4A) below and section 174 below, a candidate or other person reported by an election court personally guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice shall during the relevant period specified in subsection (5) below be incapable of voting at any Health Board election in Scotland.”;

(i)in section 160(4A), for “(4)(a)(i)” substitute “(4)”;

(j)omit section 160(5A);

(k)for section 173 substitute—

“173.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, a person convicted of a corrupt or illegal practice shall, during the relevant period specified in subsection (3) below, be incapable of voting at any Health Board election in Scotland.

(2) The incapacity imposed by subsection (1) above applies only to a person convicted of a corrupt practice under section 60, 62A or 62B above or of an illegal practice under section 61 above.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) above the relevant period is the period beginning with the date of the conviction and ending—

(a)in the case of a person convicted of a corrupt practice, five years after that date, or

(b)in the case of a person convicted of an illegal practice, three years after that date,

except that if (at any time within that period of five or three years) a court determines on an appeal by that person against the conviction that it should not be upheld, the relevant period shall end at that time instead.

(4) Any incapacities or other requirements applying to a person by virtue of subsection (1) above apply in addition to any punishment imposed under section 168 or 169 above but each of those subsections has effect subject to section 174 below.”; and

(l)in section 185—

(i)for the definition of “appropriate officer” substitute—

““appropriate officer” means the chairman of the Health Board for which the Health Board election in question was held;”;

(ii)for the definition of “candidate” substitute—

““candidate” means an individual nominated as a candidate in a Health Board   election;”;

(iii)for the definition of “declaration as to election expenses” substitute—

““declaration as to election expenses” means a statement made by a candidate under rule 56(1) of the Health Board election rules in the Schedule to the Health Board Elections (Scotland) Regulations 2009;”;

(iv)in the definition of “public office” after “councillor” insert “elected member of a Health Board”;

(v)for the definition of “return as to election expenses” substitute—

““return as to election expenses” means a statement made by a candidate under rule 56(1) of the Health Board election rules in the Schedule to the Health Board Elections (Scotland) Regulations 2009;”.