Harrogate Council to Live Stream Meetings

Harrogate Council to hold virtual meetings amidst Covid-19 crisis.

08:03 26 March 2020

As the nation adjusts to a new norm amidst the Covid-19 lockdown, Harrogate Council now considers live-streaming council meetings to practice social distancing. The move follows the announcement of a series of safety measures by Government Secretary of State, MP Robert Jenrick. 

 

 

 

Mr Jenrick said: "As part of the national effort to keep the public safe and deliver essential public services, this government stands with local councils at this difficult time.

 

 

 

"My absolute priority is to ensure they are well placed to respond to coronavirus and protect vital services, including social care.

 

 

 

"Everyone needs to play their part to help the most vulnerable in society and support their local economy, and the government will do whatever is necessary to support these efforts."

 

 

 

The local authority is now actively looking for the best technology to use in order to bring its councillors together to make key decisions on its services. Currently, all upcoming meetings are on hold until further notice. 

 

 

 

A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council said: "We think this is a helpful step forward as it means we can continue to make decisions and get the democracy process going again.

 

 

 

"We now need to make sure we get a suitable technical solution in place (no, not live streaming) and then test it.

 

 

 

"We think think this will take a couple of weeks by which time, the legislation will have been introduced."