Gargrave Village Hall NEXT week’s planning committee meeting of Craven District Council will take place at the council offices in Skipton after emergency legislation to allow online meetings came to an end. It will also mean the annual council meeting on May 25 will have to take place in the larger venue of Gargrave Village Hall. A legal challenge by Hertfordshire County Council, Lawyers in Local Government and the Association of Democratic Services Officers failed to achieve an extension of the legislation, which meant a return to physical meetings from last Friday. Councillor Richard Foster, leader of Craven District Council, said: “It is disappointing that councils have been instructed that face to face meetings must resume, and that we are unable to continue holding remote meetings. However, we have been given no choice in the matter. Therefore, face to face council meetings will resume.
Councils sidestep rules through ‘informal’ remote meetings
Some councils are drawing up plans to sidestep legal requirements for them to hold face to face meetings from now on by first holding informal remote meetings of councillors, then allowing a smaller group of elected members to ratify those decisions in person.
In order to limit face to face member contact while the coronavirus pandemic continues, councils are taking steps to flex the rules which dictate they must now return to meeting face to face, following a high court judgement on the matter last month.
A subsequent decision by judges quashed hopes that members of the public could be banned from attending, although their numbers can be capped in accordance with health and safety guidelines.
The government chose not to continue local councils’ ability to hold meetings virtually. Hertfordshire County Council, Lawyers in Local Government and the Association of Democratic Services Officers had argued to the High Court to allow for a hybrid of in-person and online meetings from May 7. Wiltshire Council has said the decision is “unfortunate” as throughout the pandemic it believes it has shown that strong governance can be carried out virtually. Terence Herbert, chief executive of Wiltshire Council, said: “Indeed, in many cases, there has been greater engagement when meetings have been held virtually. “However, we have been planning for this eventuality and the next full council meeting later this month will be an in-person meeting.”
The government chose not to continue local councils’ ability to hold meetings virtually. Hertfordshire County Council, Lawyers in Local Government and the Association of Democratic Services Officers had argued to the High Court to allow for a hybrid of in-person and online meetings from May 7. Wiltshire Council has said the decision is “unfortunate” as throughout the pandemic it believes it has shown that strong governance can be carried out virtually. Terence Herbert, chief executive of Wiltshire Council, said: “Indeed, in many cases, there has been greater engagement when meetings have been held virtually. “However, we have been planning for this eventuality and the next full council meeting later this month will be an in-person meeting.”