1. In section 9 (vacation of office on account of non-attendance)—
(a)in subsection (1), for “and (3)” substitute “to (4)”;
(b)after subsection (3) add—
“(4) Any period during which a councillor is suspended or partially suspended under Part 9 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 is to be disregarded for the purpose of calculating the period of six months under subsection (1) (and accordingly—
(a)a period during which a councillor fails to attend meetings of the council that falls immediately before, and
(b)a period during which a councillor fails to attend meetings of the council that falls immediately after,
a period of suspension or partial suspension are to be treated as consecutive).”.