To submit the
report of the Monitoring Officer (to
follow).
Minutes:
Submitted - the
report of the Monitoring Officer inviting the committee to consider the
contents of the Protocol for Virtual Meetings, prepared in response to
introducing the Local Authority Regulations (Coronavirus) (Meetings) (Wales)
2020 on 22 April 2020.
During the
discussion the following matters were raised:
·
Concern was expressed that some community councils
were not convening as they should, and it had been given to understand that
there were examples of community councils putting their own rules to one side,
e.g., by allowing a member, who had declared an interest, to remain at the
meeting. It was noted that the protocol
should be sent to town and community councils underlining the situation in
terms of declaring interest and how to move members to the waiting room etc. In response, it was explained that the
protocol was already available to the public, as it was on the agenda for this
meeting. It was also explained, that
although Zoom made it possible to move people to a waiting room etc., that not
all bodies used Zoom. Nevertheless, it
was noted that the officers would be happy to provide good practice guidelines
for the town and community councils, who met the spirit of the requirements, if
not the letter.
·
It was suggested that matters where there was an
interest could be moved to the end of the agenda as a practical way of solving
the problem, as this then meant that any member with an interest would be able
to leave the meeting altogether.
·
It was noted that there was a need for town and
community council members to have the opportunity to practise using the
technology and to begin to return to the routine of holding regular
meetings. Also, it was possible that
clerks might require more than the protocol, and that a step by step guide in
the form of screenshots explaining how to set up a meeting, contribute, put
people on mute, leave etc. would help with their confidence.
·
It was suggested that the nature of the matters that
the Standards Committee was required to consider could change if the procedure
for holding town and community council meetings virtually were to continue in
future. In response, it was explained
that the discussion was ongoing in terms of holding on to the best elements of
the existing regulations and building them into more permanent regulations in
the Local Government Bill. It was also
noted that virtual meetings made it easier for people who were working, etc.,
to participate.
·
The Democracy Service was thanked for its work in
facilitating members' access to meetings, and the Council was thanked for
providing Zoom as a way of continuing to hold bilingual meetings.
·
It was asked whether any unforeseen problems had
arisen. In response, it was noted that the meetings had gone very well in terms
of the procedure in general, and that everyone was working well together. It was not possible to address every
scenario, but rather to respond to whatever came up, as it occurred. Some technical problems had arisen in terms
of access to meetings, but the guidelines sought to resolve this, and there had
also been some broadband problems. It was further noted, as the regulations did
not require people to be visible during meetings, it was not possible to verify
who exactly was in attendance at any time, and if their name appeared on the
list of participants then it was
assumed that it was that person who was present. Also, as it was difficult to see who was
present, members were asked to say when they were leaving the meeting.
·
It was noted that the protocol had worked well, and
the members were receiving enough training before attending the formal
meetings.
·
It was noted that virtual meetings were more tiring
than meetings held in meeting rooms, and it was important to take a break
during long meetings.
Supporting documents: