The Health Professions Council (Election Scheme) Rules Order of Council 2004

Consent of and statements from nominated candidates

6.—(1) A candidate for election shall, on or before the nomination day, deliver to the Returning Officer a written statement which identifies and is signed by the candidate confirming that the candidate—

(a)is willing to stand for election;

(b)is wholly or mainly engaged in the practice, teaching or management of the profession in respect of which he is registered and seeking election or in research in those fields;

(c)lives or works wholly or mainly in a home country (and the statement shall identify that country); and

(d)is not subject to any allegation, investigation or proceedings by the Council or any other body responsible for regulating or licensing a health or social care profession concerning his fitness to practise.

(2) A candidate may supply to the Returning Officer, on or before the nomination day—

(a)an election statement, including particulars of the candidate’s qualifications and career, of such length and in such form as the Returning Officer shall specify; and

(b)a passport-sized photograph of the candidate sent in such electronic format as the Returning Officer shall specify as an acceptable electronic format.

(3) Subject to the following provisions of this rule, any election statement received by the Returning Officer on or before the nomination day which is in accordance with paragraph (2)(a), together with any photograph received by the Returning Officer on or before nomination day which is in accordance with paragraph (2)(b), shall be printed and sent by the Independent Scrutineer with the ballot papers issued under rule 9 to electors eligible to vote for the candidate.

(4) The requirement to send any material to an elector under paragraph (3) shall be treated as satisfied if—

(a)the material is sent to him electronically by the Independent Scrutineer to an electronic address notified to the Council by that elector as a contact address; or

(b)a notice is sent to him electronically by the Independent Scrutineer to an electronic address notified to the Council by that elector as a contact address informing him of—

(i)the availability of that material on a website;

(ii)the electronic location of that website; and

(iii)the place on that website where the material may be accessed, and how it may be accessed,

and the material is available continuously on that website throughout the period beginning with the date on which the notice was sent and ending with the date on which the result of the election is declared.

(5) Where any material is available on a website for a part but not all of the period mentioned in paragraph (4)(b) and the failure to make that material available throughout that period is wholly attributable to circumstances which it would not have been reasonable to have expected the Council to prevent or avoid, that failure shall not invalidate the election of any person.

(6) The Returning Officer shall not be required by this rule to issue an election statement of a length greater than that specified by the Council and, if a candidate’s election statement exceeds the specified length the issued statement shall end at the last complete sentence within the specified length.

(7) The Returning Officer shall not be required by this rule to issue an election statement which, in the Returning Officer’s opinion, is or may be libellous, scandalous or untrue on matters of fact and may either edit the statement before issuing it or decide not to issue it.

(8) Every candidate who supplies material under paragraph (2) shall be deemed to have agreed—

(a)that the decision of the Returning Officer not to issue the whole or any part of it shall be final; and

(b)to indemnify the Returning Officer and the Council against any liability to any third party which arises by reason of issuing that material.