Council Meeting
10 March 2022
Remote Meetings

1. The Council is aware that the regulations enabling remote meetings6 expired
in May 2021 and despite stated good intentions, the Government has so far
failed to implement legislation enabling remote meetings where a council
might consider that medium to be the most appropriate.

2. Five national local government organisations, Lawyers in Local Government,
the Association of Democratic Services Officers, the National Association of
Local Councils, The Society of Local Council Clerks and the Centre for
Governance and Scrutiny have joined and are asking all councils to consider
passing a motion and writing to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities to show their support for local authorities to be
able to hold remote and hybrid meetings.

3. Unveiling the proposed motion, the consortium said ‘We do not wish to
impose remote meetings on councils. You should have the choice to decide
how to run your meetings depending on local circumstances. We accept that
some meetings (for example full council meetings) are more suited to physical
attendance’.

4. The consortium cited a range of wider benefits including increased attendance
at remote meetings by both councillors and the public, significant cost savings
for some authorities, the environmental benefits of less travel, a better
work/life balance for councillors, improved equality of access to meetings,
more transparency and openness for the public to see council meetings and
an option to move meetings online when there are constraints for example
bad weather such as snow or flooding.

5. In a parliamentary debate on 24 January 2022 the Secretary of State, Michael
Gove, said he was ‘strongly in sympathy with the view that hybrid meetings
should continue in order to ensure the maximum amount of efficiency’.
However, the Government’s response to its call for evidence on 21 March
2021 is still awaited.

6. The motion recommended by the consortium states:

This Council supports the petition launched by ADSO and LLG on 5 January
calling on the government to change the law to give councils (ranging from
county, district and unitary authorities, through to town and parish councils)
the freedom to hold remote meetings when local circumstances suit. This
includes hybrid meetings. We agree to write to the Secretary of State for
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities calling on the Government to change
the law to allow councils the flexibility to hold such meetings when they deem
appropriate within agreed rules and procedures.

7. The Council is asked to consider whether it wishes to support the
recommended motion.

Graham White
Parish Clerk
3 March 2022