Small farm councillor attends frequently (5)
I believe the answer is:
croft
'small farm' is the definition.
(Scottish term for a small farm)
'councillor attends frequently' is the wordplay.
'councillor' becomes 'cr' (abbreviation).
'attends' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'frequently' becomes 'oft' (oft can mean frequently, eg oft-quoted).
'cr'+'oft'='CROFT'
(Other definitions for croft that I've seen before include "Farm up north" , "Scottish smallholding" , "Virgin Mary's husband" , "Small (Scots) farm" , "Small Scottish rented farm" .)