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26
Mar 2021
'Mistake' to return to in-person meetings, says council leader
The leader of Harrogate Borough Council says it is a “mistake” that council meetings must return in-person before all coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
Cllr Richard Cooper, the Conservative leader of the authority, said local authorities should be given a choice whether to hold meetings remotely or in-person.
It comes as the government yesterday announced that emergency legislation, which has allowed virtual decision-making during the pandemic, will end on May 7.
Cllr Cooper said:
The Local Government Association, a body which represents local authorities across the UK, said the decision was “extremely disappointing”.
Since last May, all borough council meetings have been held over Microsoft Teams and streamed live onto YouTube.
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In a letter to councils, Luke Hall, minister for regional growth and local government, said while he recognised there may be some safety concerns, the vaccine rollout and fewer covid cases “should result in significant reduction in risk for local authority members meeting in-person”.
He added the government would hold talks with leaders over how remote meetings could be made permanent, as he also urged councils to continue providing remote access for members of the public through live-streaming.
Mr Hall said:
The announcement comes after Harrogate councillors last week agreed to look into how remote and in-person meetings could be streamed online in the future.
In January last year and before the pandemic struck, councillors voted against an idea of live-streaming because of claims it would have been too expensive.
But Cllr Chris Aldred said covid has now shown there is a “clear interest” in people being able to watch meetings online rather than in person.
He told a meeting of the council’s general purposes committee:
Cllr Pauline McHardy also said:
In his letter to councils, Mr Hall said any local authorities concerned about holding physical meetings should consider resuming these after May 17 when large indoor events of up to 1,000 people or 50% capacity are due to be allowed.
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