Sch 1A para 11
(1) This paragraph applies if— (a) a returning officer declares a vacancy in an electoral ward (see paragraph 6), or (b) an elected member vacates office before the end of the period mentioned in paragraph 10A(1) of Schedule 1. (2) The Scottish Ministers may— (a) direct the Health Board with the vacancy to invite an unelected candidate to fill the vacancy, or (b) appoint, in accordance with any provision made by election regulations, an individual to fill the vacancy. (3) If a vacancy arises less than 6 months before the date of the next Health Board election in the Health Board area where it arises, the Scottish Ministers may, instead of taking action under sub-paragraph (2), direct the Health Board to leave the vacancy unfilled until that next election. (4) An individual who fills a vacancy is to be deemed to be an elected member of the Health Board elected for the ward in which the vacancy occurred. (5) In sub-paragraph (2)(a), an “unelected candidate” is an individual who— (a) was a nominated candidate in the last Health Board election to be held in the Health Board area, and (b) is identified by criteria specified in election regulations.