Council Virtual Meetings

Local authorities in England and Wales gets green signal to hold meetings remotely starting 4 April 2020.

04:07 09 April 2020

The Statutory Instrument (SI) that allows local authorities in England and Wales to hold meetings remotely amidst the coronavirus crisis has been finally published and will take effect on 4 April 2020. 

 

Since the Government has issued a stern warning against public gatherings and non-essential business meetings to flatten the coronavirus curve, council meetings have either been postponed or cancelled, leaving major applications undetermined. 

 

In its basic term, SI allows councillors to hold their meetings through “video conferencing, live webcast and live interactive streaming.” Services and available conference facilities will be used by councillors to show their support or objection. They are also free to vote via an electronic voting system. The meetings, which can be accessed by members of the press and public, allow planning committees to determine applications remotely. However, some are concerned that the new platform will not allow residents to effectively express support or objection to a particular application as they sit behind a computer screen individually. 

 

However, there are some limitations. For instance, any decisions that would be made at an Annual General Meeting (such as the election of a Leader of the Council) must be postponed “until such time as that authority may determine.”