Most councils want powers to hold virtual meetings

The majority of councils (95 per cent) surveyed by the Local Government Association (LGA) want the powers to be able to reintroduce virtual and hybrid technology for statutory council meetings.

The LGA warns that the recruitment and retention of councillors, particularly those with career or care commitments, will be hampered if powers are not given to councils to be able to hold statutory meetings in a hybrid manner.

One in 10 councils surveyed had a councillor who had stepped down in their authority since May 2021 due to the requirement for them to attend council meetings in-person.

It comes as two years have passed since the Government’s call for evidence on the issue closing.

The survey also revealed that 84 per cent found their councillors with work commitments would benefit from hybrid meetings, whilst 64 per cent of councils thought that their councillors with childcare commitments would also take advantage of the changes.

Almost 9 in 10 councils surveyed said they had councillors who would make use of virtual attendance options to attend council meetings as a reasonable adjustment.

No council surveyed wanted to hold fully virtual meetings but the vast majority wanted hybrid options for those councillors who needed it.

Under 50 year old laws councils are required to hold certain statutory meetings, such as for planning and full council, in person. However, during the pandemic, councils were temporarily allowed to hold these meetings virtually until May 2021.

Councils are calling on the Government to finally remove this outdated barrier to participation and legislate to allow councils the flexibility to decide for them how they should use virtual meeting technologies.

Cllr Joe Harris, Vice-Chair of the LGA said: “Good decision-making needs people who reflect the range of experiences, background and insight that exist in their communities.

“However, councillors are restricted by law to attend council meetings in person, which can deter a range of people including full time professionals, parents of young children, carers, workers and disabled people from stepping forward to represent their communities.

“The Government should provide councils, who know their communities best, with the flexibility they need to decide how to use hybrid technologies in their meetings.

“People’s expectations have changed due to improvements in virtual meeting technologies bought on by the pandemic. Many people now use hybrid meeting technologies every day in their work life and so there should be no reason why this cannot be used by councils across the country.

“This will help to drive up engagement in local democracy and ensure that we have a diverse range of councillors throughout our communities."