The Act — Section by Section Part 2 – Membership of local authorities Section 7 – Disqualification
21.This section repeals section 31(1)(a) of the 1973 Act and replaces it with a new section 31A. The effect of so doing is to lift the requirement for a person who is a paid employee or office-holder of a local authority to resign when he or she is nominated as a candidate to be a councillor and to replace it with a requirement to resign only where the person is elected. Resignation is to take effect on the first working day following the declaration of election. Disqualification on the grounds that a person has a business partner who is a paid employee or office-holder of a local authority is lifted entirely.