Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947

Resignation and Vacation of Office.

56 Resignation.

A member of a local authority may at any time resign his office as member by a notice in writing signed by him and delivered to the clerk of the authority, and his resignation shall take effect upon the expiration of three weeks after the date of delivery of the notice or Upon such earlier date, if any, as may be stated in the notice as the date on which the resignation is to take effect.

57 Vacation of office by failure to attend meetings.

(1) If a member of a local authority fails throughout a period of six consecutive months to attend any meeting of the authority, he shall, unless he has been granted leave of absence by the authority as in this section provided or unless the failure to attend was due to some reason approved by the authority, be deemed to have become disqualified for acting as a member of the authority and the provisions of section fifty-three of this Act shall apply in his case:

Provided that—

(a) attendance as a member at a meeting of any committee or sub-commitee of the authority or at a meeting of any joint committee or joint board to which any function of the authority has been delegated shall be deemed for the purposes of this subsection to be attendance at a meeting of the authority;

(b) a member of any branch of His Majesty's naval, military or air forces, when employed during war or any emergency on any naval, military or air force service, and a person whose employment in the service of His Majesty in connection with war or any emergency is such as in the opinion of the Secretary of State to entitle him to relief from disqualification on account of absence, shall not cease to be a member of a local authority by reason only of failure to attend meetings of the authority if the failure is due to that employment;

(c) in calculating in relation to a member of a county council, the said period of six consecutive months, no account shall be taken of any period before the date of the commencement of this Act.

(2) A local authority may grant leave of absence to a member of the authority, on his application and on reasonable cause shown, for any period not exceeding at any one time twelve months.

(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a person who is ex-officio a district councillor in respect of his membership of a county council.