Health Board Member had to Resign
Former board member Alis Ballance had no choice but to quit her post because she was standing as a candidate in the election.
Health board member resigns
by Julie Watt, Dumfries Standard Wednesday
HEALTH chiefs insist former board member Alis Ballance had no choice but to quit her post because she was standing as a candidate in the election.
Mrs Ballance, who is also a Scottish Green Party candidate, claimed “bully boy tactics” had forced her to quit her post.
But a spokesman for NHS Dumfries and Galloway said Mrs Ballance was required to resign from her position, that came with an £8,000 salary, under The Scottish Parliament Disqualification Order 2010.
He said: “We would like to make it clear The Scottish Parliament Disqualification Order 2010 sets out the office holders who are disqualified from being members of the Scottish Parliament.
“As Mrs Ballance was to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming parliamentary election, so was required to resign from her position as a non-executive board member in order to comply with this order.”
Mrs Ballance was elected to sit on the board in June as part of a pilot scheme in the region, which she branded a “farce”.
She joined nine members of the community to sit on the health board, but she said: “It was meant to make the health service more responsive to public concerns and give more representation of the views of the community. I have been unable to do that because I am working under such controlled conditions.”
The Electoral Commission said Mrs Ballance would have to resign before submitting her election application.
A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said: “If someone was to stand as a candidate for the parliamentary election they would have to resign from the health board before they submitted their nomination for election.”
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