Agenda item
Future of Council Meetings
Purpose:
To seek direction from Council on whether some or all meetings should continue to be held via video conferencing, should the law allow such after 7 May 2021.
Recommendation:
That Council considers the report and determines how it wishes to proceed.
Minutes:
Members received a report from the Business Manager (Corporate Responsibility) which sought direction from Council on whether some or all meetings should continue to be held via video conferencing, should the law allow such after 7 May 2021.
The report advised that Luke Hall MP, Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government, had written to all Council Leaders in England stating that the Government would not be extending the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) which made provision for virtual meetings.
In light of this announcement, the Regulations would not apply to meetings after 7 May 2021 and as such there would be a requirement to return to physical meetings after that date. The Association of Democratic Services Officers and Lawyers in Local Government, along with Hertfordshire County Council, had issued a claim in the High Court to ask for a declaration of lawfulness to allow for the continuation of local authority remote meetings beyond 7 May 2021. That application had been accepted by the Court and expedited and had been heard on 21 April 2021 but as at the time of the meeting, no announcement had been made.
The report went on to outline the positives and negatives of virtual meetings and how to conduct face to face meetings safely, whilst maintaining social distancing measures. A number of options had been discussed but would require additional safety measures, recording of visitors for track and trace purposes and the need to hire sound and video equipment when required.
There was potential that a mix of virtual and face to face meetings could be achieved should the declaration be granted and the continuation of virtual meetings was permissible.
The Leader introduced the report and explained that she had met with Democratic Services prior to the meeting and due to the fluidity of the situation had prepared some recommendations which she had circulated to Group Leaders. She proposed that:
(a) In the event that the High Court grants a declaration permitting the continuation of virtual meetings then delegated authority is given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with Cabinet Members and Group Leaders, to determine whether meetings of the Council, Cabinet and Committees should continue virtually, revert to face to face or consist of a mixture of virtual and face to face meetings;
(b) In the event that the High Court does not grant a declaration permitting the continuation of virtual meetings then Council notes that all meetings will revert to face to face with effect from 7 May 2021;
(c) In the event that the High Court does not hand down judgment in relation to the above mentioned declaration in advance of the 7 May 2021, then Council notes that meetings will revert to face to face until such time as judgment is received, following which either recommendation (a) or (b) will apply as appropriate.
She advised that Democratic Services were in the process of planning room layouts, ordering PPE and planning to ensure that meetings could be held in a safe environment.
The proposal was seconded by Councillor Morris.
Councillor Graham addressed Members and noted that this was a complicated issue. He stressed that the health and safety of all Members was paramount and did not feel comfortable with rushing any of the decisions or plans through. He noted some of the advantages of virtual meetings which included increased attendance from Councillors and the public. He felt that a pragmatic, all party approach was achievable.
Councillor Enright echoed many of the comments made, including the benefits of virtual meetings and noted that he was happy to delegate authority for responding to the High Court decision. However, he requested that the following information be taken into consideration. It was the Group’s preference that the virtual meetings continue until at least June, in line with government health advice; and that the Council had a choice, as the sovereign body of West Oxfordshire, to decide how to conduct future meetings, potential using a hybrid approach.
Councillor Enright also observed that it was National Worker’s Memorial Day, which allowed time to reflect on those who had lost their lives in the workplace. He recognised that staff had shown ingenuity, flexibility and fortitude over the past year and felt they should be consulted on how best to carry out their work as everyone moved out of lockdown.
In response, Councillor Mead advised that due to the free-flowing characteristic of the situation, she did not feel that the recommendation should be altered but assured Councillor Enright that his comments would be observed when it came to deciding on the detailed processes.
Councillor Langridge noted that as the sole Independent Member he had not had sight of the proposed recommendations. Whilst he was keen to start face to face meetings again, he felt that a date nearer to June would be more suitable.
Following a query from Councillor Cooper, officers explained that this was a decision that the Chief Executive would take in consultation with Cabinet Members and Group Leaders. Councillor Cooper felt that this should be a decision taken by the Chairman and advised that he would vote against it.
In seconding the proposal, Councillor Morris agreed that it would be nice to meet in person but that it should be done at the appropriate time.
Councillor Bolger addressed the meeting and requested that diversity and inclusion be at the forefront of everyone’s minds, in particular for the need for more women to be included in local democracy because historically there had been an inequality in the gender balance and this was still continuing.
Having considered the report and having heard from the Members present, Council
RESOLVED that
(a) In the event that the High Court grants a declaration permitting the continuation of virtual meetings then delegated authority is given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with Cabinet Members and Group Leaders, to determine whether meetings of the Council, Cabinet and Committees should continue virtually, revert to face to face or consist of a mixture of virtual and face to face meetings;
(b) In the event that the High Court does not grant a declaration permitting the continuation of virtual meetings then Council notes that all meetings will revert to face to face with effect from 7 May 2021;
(c) In the event that the High Court does not hand down judgment in relation to the above mentioned declaration in advance of the 7 May 2021, then Council notes that meetings will revert to face to face until such time as judgment is received, following which either recommendation (a) or (b) will apply as appropriate.
(Councillor Cooper voted against the recommendations)
Supporting documents:
PDF 250 KB