Agenda item
Review of Remote Meetings Options
Decision:
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RESOLVED: |
That Council agreed:- |
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(i). |
with the exception of the meeting of the Audit Committee on 28 July 2022, all future meetings of South Somerset District Council and its committees will be held in person with a virtual on-line space and live streaming, provided the technology to provide a virtual on-line space and live stream is available in the normal meeting venue. Members of the public may attend in person or, where there is an on-line facility, virtually. Members of Council attending via the virtual on-line space may only participate at the express invitation of the Chair of the meeting. Note: this requirement applies to Full Council and the following meetings only: Appeals Committee Appointments Committee Area East Committee Area North Committee Area South Committee Area West Committee Audit Committee District Executive Licensing Committee Licensing Sub-Committee Regulation Committee Scrutiny Committee Standards Committee; |
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(ii) |
(i) applies until 31 March 2023 unless external circumstances dictate otherwise; |
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(iii) |
that the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chair of Council be given delegated power to make any or all meetings remote for a period of up to 4 weeks at any time when it appears reasonably prudent to do so on public health and safety grounds or in line with national or local safe practice under the Covid19 guidance and requirements issued by the Government from time to time; |
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(iv) |
that officers may continue to attend meetings remotely, where possible, provided that where an officer is named as the Lead Officer for an Agenda item they must attend the meeting in person or, if attending remotely, ensure a suitable, properly briefed officer approved by the relevant SLT lead, attends in person;
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(v) |
the meeting of Audit Committee on 28 July 2022 will be a remote advisory meeting with any decision delegated to the Chief Executive. |
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Reason: |
To review the Council’s previous decisions to hold remote, virtual meetings using available technology; and to return to in-person Council meetings. |
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(Voting: 29 in favour, 2 against, 7 abstentions)
Minutes:
The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services thanked the members of the Scrutiny Task and Finish Group for their work in reviewing the options for returning to in-person meetings. He noted that the meeting of the Audit Committee the following week had already been published as an on-line meeting and it would remain so. He further noted there were options B to I in the report for Members to consider.
During discussion the following points were made:
· The Council should return to in-person meetings.
· The recommendation of the Scrutiny Task and Finish group should be taken forward.
· Full Council meetings should return to the 7.30pm start time.
· Concern that Option I had not been subject to an equality impact assessment.
· The Council had agreed a climate emergency and returning to in-person meetings would affect travel and the use of fuel across the county.
· It was part of a Councillors role to take decisions and the quality of those decisions had a greater impact when taken at in-person meetings.
· The hybrid system was not reliable enough. For the remaining months the Council should return to in-person meetings.
· The Scrutiny Task and Finish Group was represented by councillors from all parties and from across the district.
· Member training could remain on-line as they were not public meetings.
· To allow the public to attend either in-person or on-line would fit with the equality duty.
· It was easier for the deaf community to attend an in-person meeting and be able to lip-read the debate as often in on-line meetings, cameras were not used.
· There were no transport links to the Brympton Way office if all meetings were to be held there.
· Hybrid meetings allowed the public who were unable to attend in person to make their representations.
It was proposed that the Scrutiny Task and Finish group recommendations (Option H) be accepted and this was seconded
It was also proposed that Option I – to return to in-person meetings for all public council meetings but allow those who wished to participate on-line to do so, and this was seconded.
In response to a question, the Monitoring Officer clarified that Option I represented the situation for SSDC Council meetings before March 2019 but with the amendment proposed to allow the public to attend virtually then this recognised the equality duty.
The Monitoring Officer clarified that Option H (as recommended by the Scrutiny Task and Finish group) and Option I with a clarification that all meetings would have a virtual on-line space and would also be streamed on YouTube had been proposed. The enabling technology had only been installed in the Council Chamber at Brympton Way, so any hybrid and in person meetings would need to take place there, including Area Committees, unless an alternative venue with the required functionality was available at a reasonable cost within budget.
Members then voted on Option H (as recommended by the Scrutiny Task and Finish group) and the voting was 9 in favour, 26 against and 4 abstentions. Therefore this proposal fell.
Councillor Jason Baker proposed that to allow meeting to be held at alternative venues, then the wording of Option I be amended to use the enabling technology when available. This proposed amendment to Option I was seconded and when put to the vote was carried by 29 in favour, 3 against and 9 abstentions. This then became the substantive amendment to Option I
Members then voted on the proposed Option I that all public meetings of the Council be held in-person with a virtual on-line space and live streaming with the agreed amendment to allow meetings to be held at alternative venues using the enabling technology when available. This proposal was carried by 30 votes in favour, 2 against and 10 abstentions.
The final vote to confirm all the proposed recommendations of the report including Option I was taken and confirmed by 29 votes in favour, 2 against and 7 abstentions.
Councillor Martin Wale questioned councillors attendance at Parish Council meetings under the Local Government Act 1972 as a qualifying attendance.
The Monitoring Officer confirmed that subsection 2 of the Act listed approved attendances at meeting such as Areas of Outstanding Beauty (AONB) meetings. She accepted that Members attended Town and Parish Council meetings to represent SSDC but they were not a recognised attendance and if Members wished to recognise them as a qualifying attendance it would require a specific resolution to do so.
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RESOLVED: |
That Council agreed:- |
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(i). |
with the exception of the meeting of the Audit Committee on 28 July 2022, all future meetings of South Somerset District Council and its committees will be held in person with a virtual on-line space and live streaming, provided the technology to provide a virtual on-line space and live stream is available in the normal meeting venue. Members of the public may attend in person or, where there is an on-line facility, virtually. Members of Council attending via the virtual on-line space may only participate at the express invitation of the Chair of the meeting. Note: this requirement applies to Full Council and the following meetings only: Appeals Committee Appointments Committee Area East Committee Area North Committee Area South Committee Area West Committee Audit Committee District Executive Licensing Committee Licensing Sub-Committee Regulation Committee Scrutiny Committee Standards Committee; |
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(ii) |
(i) applies until 31 March 2023 unless external circumstances dictate otherwise; |
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(iii) |
that the Chief Executive in consultation with the Chair of Council be given delegated power to make any or all meetings remote for a period of up to 4 weeks at any time when it appears reasonably prudent to do so on public health and safety grounds or in line with national or local safe practice under the Covid19 guidance and requirements issued by the Government from time to time; |
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(iv) |
that officers may continue to attend meetings remotely, where possible, provided that where an officer is named as the Lead Officer for an Agenda item they must attend the meeting in person or, if attending remotely, ensure a suitable, properly briefed officer approved by the relevant SLT lead, attends in person;
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(v) |
the meeting of Audit Committee on 28 July 2022 will be a remote advisory meeting with any decision delegated to the Chief Executive. |
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Reason: |
To review the Council’s previous decisions to hold remote, virtual meetings using available technology; and to return to in-person Council meetings. |
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(Voting: 29 in favour, 2 against, 7 abstentions)
Supporting documents:
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