Preparing for face-to-face meetings

Preparing for face-to-face meetings

updated 7 May 2021

NALC summary position and guidance on return to face-to-face local council meetings

Following the High Court Judgment on remote meetings, without further legislation there are no definitive answers and NALC is taking the approach of advising the safest course for local councils taking into account both Covid laws and local government law.

The current position is unsatisfactory and will cause huge problems for many of the 10,000 local councils in England, which the sector will address in its usual professional way and in the best interests of residents.

It is clear that the legal position is that local councils need to meet face-to-face, rather than remotely, and be open to attendance in person from the public.

As we have advised previously in our guidance on preparing for the possible return to face-to-face meetings, local councils should take steps to address this issue through measures such as delegation to clerks, deferring controversial decisions or holding meetings later in the year, after the 21 June roadmap date.

Any face-to-face meeting should be held in line with restrictions and public health advice in place at that time. So, in practical terms, local councils will have no choice but to control the numbers of people physically in the meeting room at any one time in order to comply with the Government’s Covid restrictions. 

We are currently advising local councils not to meet before 17 May because of Covid regulations and the roadmap.

When calling a meeting, local councils must conduct a risk assessment of any available venue and you can find details of how to in the Managing Facilities and Public Spaces section.

In light of the risk assessment it is advised to set out in the notice of the meeting and the agenda, the arrangements for safely meeting (for example social distancing, wearing of masks and hand sanitising and other measures) and the number of the public that can be accommodated.

If there is a large influx of the public for a meeting which exceeds the room’s safe capacity as stated on the agenda, then the permitted number of attendees should not be exceeded. Local councils should manage as they would usually any disruptive behaviour or health and safety risks. 

If the assessment is that the room cannot hold a safety meeting and no other venue is available or there is no outside space then, the local council will need to take appropriate mitigating actions including delaying meetings until after 21 June 

 The meeting notice should also set out any arrangements for live streaming and making the meeting available for the public to observe proceedings and encourage the public to watch remotely.

Councils may also want to encourage members of the public to make written representations on issues rather than attending in person.

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Further information and statement on the current position

The High Court has decided that the continuation of remote meetings for councils in England is a matter that must be decided by Parliament and not by the courts. They made the point that the Parliament of Scotland and the Welsh Senedd have already passed legislation allowing remote meetings.

As a result of this judgment, issued on 28 April 2021, remote meetings cannot take place in England after 6 May 2021, though this will be reviewed in the longer term through the government’s call for evidence which councils are being encouraged to respond to. 

A further High Court judgment on 4 May 2021 addressed the issue of public participation in meetings and ruled that local authority meetings must be open to the public in a physical sense. References to a meeting are “open to the public” or “held in public” in the Court’s view mean the physical attendance by the public. This means that the public can attend in person and councils have to provide such facilities. This should however be provided and managed in line with current restrictions and public health advice. So, in practical terms, local councils have no choice but to control the numbers of people physically in the meeting room at any one time to comply with the Government’s Covid restrictions in place.  

The Court judgment concludes:

“None of this, of course, prevents a local authority from broadcasting or live-streaming some or all of its meetings so as to allow wider public access. But such broadcasting or live-streaming does not, on its own, satisfy the requirement for the meeting to be “open to the public” or “held in public”. We say nothing about the numbers of the members of the public who should be admitted in person, which will no doubt be subject to current public health or Government guidance. But subject to that practical consideration, or any other legislative intervention, where the requirement for the meeting to be “open to the public” or “held in public” applies, members of the public must be admitted in person as well.”

Further information and guidance on this from the Association of Democratic Services Officers and Lawyers in Local Government, with which NALC concurs, is set out here.

Both NALC and the Society of Local Council Clerks are disappointed at this ruling (you can read NALC’s statement in response) and are continuing to lobby the Government to address this issue as a matter of urgency as it is a problem of the Government’s own making that they should have resolved already. Our chairman, Cllr Sue Baxter, has made direct representations to the minister and will be meeting him shortly. In the meantime, we would urge everyone to respond to the current call for evidence from MHCLG to enable remote meetings to continue should local councils wish. Please stay in touch with your MPs to draw this matter to their attention and ask them to support you by lobbying the Government.

The current situation will cause many county associations, local councils, councillors and clerks, huge difficulties and the impossible dilemma of balancing these requirements with the other restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic rules.

However, we have a clear legal judgment that existing legislation does not permit councils to hold remote meetings and any practical solutions must not circumvent the law. Just as local councils responded positively to the pandemic embracing remote meetings to conduct business and ensure democratic oversight and accountability, we would expect local councils to make decisions to enable the business to be conducted safely and effectively and in line with the sector’s traditions of good governance, transparency and democratic accountability; and within the framework of the Nolan Principles and the Code of Conduct. 

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Government guidance on holding meetings safely

The first point of call for local councils should be the government guidance for the safe use of council buildings which gives guidance on matters procedural, such as the delegation of decisions to officers. It has been updated and is kept under review. Individual local councils will have to decide what they do in practice based on their particular needs while also having reference to the requirements of transparency and democratic accountability. 

Some key points from the guidance include:

• Use your existing powers to delegate decision making to minimise the number of meetings you need to hold
• If holding a physical annual meeting, local authorities should consider holding it (and any other physical meetings) after 17 May, at which point it is anticipated that a much greater range of indoor activity can resume in line with the roadmap set out by the government on 22 February.
• Local authorities have legal obligations to ensure that members of the public have access to most of their meetings.
• Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, even though redesigning a particular meeting, local authorities should consider whether that meeting needs to continue for the local authority to operate and if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between members and others.
• Local authorities that require additional space for essential meetings can hire function and event space at permitted venues. Local authorities should not hire function or event space for non-essential purposes.
• Meetings, where local authorities deem that in-person attendance is not required, should continue to be held virtually. For example, this would include non-statutory or other informal meetings.

NALC advice on risk assessments and mitigating measures

The Covid rules applicable at the time of the meeting must be complied with, including social distancing. It would be wise to ensure that sanitiser is provided. The room should be well ventilated (doors and windows open). One-way access should be provided if possible. Printed papers/agendas should be avoided as much as possible. NALC previous guidance published in March in the section further below set out preparations local councils should be taking to meet face-to-face and advice on how to reduce risk.

NALC and BHIB Councils Insurance have produced a guide on risk assessment for COVID-19. The guide features guidance and information to help make risk assessments and directs to useful resources from the government and the Health and Safety Executive, with specific details on how to adapt your risk assessments for COVID-19. The guide also contains two templates designed especially for local councils that will help start risk assessments. Read the Risk assessment for COVID-19 

Templates are also available for:

• Council reopening checklist
• General workplace risk assessment
• Reopening toilets — download the editable version
• Play areas and outside gyms — download the editable version 

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Previous March guidance on preparing for the possible return of face-to-face meetings

The regulations that allow local authorities to hold meetings remotely apply to local authority meetings that are required to be held, or held, before 7 May 2021. This means that, without any further action from the government, all local authorities including local councils must return to face to face meetings from 7 May. NALC is working with a number of national bodies to press the government to extend these regulations beyond this date and will continue to stress the urgency and importance of this issue. However, at this time government has no plans to extend these regulations and so councils should start preparing for the real possibility of face to face meetings from May.

NALC’s position remains that all local councils should continue to meet remotely while the regulations are in force. The guidance below has been written to help local councils prepare for the scenario that remote council meetings cannot lawfully take place from 7 May 2021. There is still much uncertainty around how legislation or COVID-19 risks may change over the coming weeks and months. NALC will update this guidance as the situation evolves. Each council will have to decide which course of action will best fit their needs and manage risks.

To help local councils prepare for this possibility some advice and suggestions are below:

• Consider what council business can be conducted before May so that the council can dedicate time to those issues in remote meetings. The more discussion and decisions you can conduct in remote meetings means the council can aim to hold fewer and shorter face to face meetings after May. 
• This may require more meeting time than is currently planned, so the council should look at the meeting schedule in the run-up to May and see if more time or more meetings are required. Where possible, consider holding the annual council meeting and the parish meeting while the current Regulations permit for them to be held remotely (see also NALC’s Legal Briefing L01-20).
• Consider when the council does need to meet face to face, and whether meetings can be delayed to later in the year when the potential COVID-19 risk may be further reduced.
• The council might consider holding a remote meeting as late as possible in April so that councillors who are unable to attend face-to-face meetings will have as much time as possible before disqualification by virtue of s.85 of the Local Government Act 1972 becomes an issue.
• It may help the council’s business continuity to implement (or review) a scheme of delegation. This would allow the clerk to make certain decisions for the council, which would be especially important if the council were unable to hold meetings due to COVID-19 risks. In reviewing/adopting a scheme of delegation the council should ensure there is clarity around which decisions are delegated and which are not, for how long the scheme of delegation is in place, and when the scheme of the delegation will end or be reviewed.

Some tips that may help manage well-attended remote meetings are:

• keeping the meeting short with limited business/votes
• using electronic voting tools (many platforms have built-in tools for voting)
• if you plan to vote by a show of hands or calling a register then budget significant extra time for this
• building in public engagement through online tools, that you could use to ask the public to feedback or express views that you would usually discuss in a meeting You could do also do this before or after the meeting as a way of ensuring ongoing public engagement (there are a number of free tools available online)
• build in time to practice and prepare with the Clerk and Chairman in advance of the meeting
• Further guidance on holding effective remote meetings available from NALC

From May 2021, as face-to-face council meetings resume there will still be the risk to attendees of COVID-19 exposure. Councils should conduct a risk assessment in advance of a face to face meeting which should give consideration to what the council can do to reduce risk to councillors, staff and public including:

• Providing hand sanitiser to those entering the meeting room and making sure hand sanitiser is readily available in the room itself
• Staggering arrival and exit times for staff, councillors and members of the public
• Placing seating at least 2-metres apart
• Ensuring everyone wears face masks
• Holding paperless meetings
• If papers are provided, people should be discouraged from sharing with others and asked to take the papers with them at the end of the meeting to minimise how many people handle the papers
• Arranging seating so people are not facing each other directly
• Choosing a venue with good ventilation, including opening windows and doors where possible
• Choosing a large enough venue to allow distancing – this may mean choosing a different venue to what the council used before.
• The council (or venue owner/operator) will need to identify the venue’s maximum capacity in their risk assessment, taking into account the need for social distancing. Consider how the council will ensure this capacity is not exceeded and how it will manage the situation if more people wish to attend than capacity allows. For example, could meetings be live-streamed or could members of the public submit questions via email?
• If the venue has an NHS QR code to support test and trace then all attendees should register using that app, for those without access to the app they should register attendance in line with the venue’s test and trace procedure. NB all venues in hospitality, the tourism and leisure industry, close contact services, community centres and village halls must have a test and trace procedure
• Venues must conform with the government guidance for multi-purpose community facilities and for council buildings. If the venue is run by the council then the council must take responsibility for this, otherwise, the council can ask the venue to provide confirmation that they do conform to this guidance
• The council must understand and ensure it is acting in compliance with the latest government safer workplaces guidance

Managing staff:

• It would be advisable to inform the clerk and any other staff whose role involves supporting or attending council meetings, as soon as possible that the council will need to prepare to return to face to face meetings from May onwards. This will allow them to make the necessary preparations as described above, and also to allow time to engage with staff to alleviate any concerns they may have related to attending physical meetings again.
• Councils should consult with staff (ask for and consider their views to try and reach an agreement) about returning to work as part of their preparations for face to face meetings.
• The council must make the workplace (including council meetings) as safe as possible for staff, this includes undertaking a risk assessment, taking reasonable steps to reduce risks identified in the risk assessment, and ensure it is acting in compliance with the latest Government safer workplaces guidance
• ACAS have produced useful guidance for employers and employees related to COVID-19, including advice on how to support staff to return to the workplace and how to manage situations where staff may be worried or not wish to return.

Please also see the article Failure to Convene Meetings

Online Meetings: Management

Online Meetings: Management

updated 15 April 2020

Download ‘Think before you speak’ and other tips for remote meetings- an article by Liz Howlett, Solicitor

• Upon joining a meeting, you should mute your microphone and ensure your video is enabled.
• The Chair will confirm if there are any members of the public present and ask them if they want to speak during the public session.
• The Chair will remind everyone on the meeting to ensure that their microphone is on mute and that their video is enabled (this includes members of the public).
• The Chair will inform all present that the meeting will be recorded by the Council. The public session need not be recorded if anybody wishes to object.
• The Chair will then work through the Agenda supported by the Clerk as required. The Agenda will be as concise as possible and focus on what is important, where practicable it will avoid items that may require lengthy debate. These items will be postponed until the current lockdown has been lifted. The scheme of delegation approved at the March meeting will remain in place until face to face meetings are permitted again.
• Papers for the meeting will be posted on the Parish Council Website and emailed out to all Councillors with an email address. Every effort will be made to avoid additional papers being required.
• If a Councillor has declared an interest in an item to be discussed they will be asked to leave the meeting at that point. When that item has been concluded the Chair will ring the Councillor concerned and invite them to re-join the meeting using the original link provided.
• In order for a Councillor to make a point regarding an item under discussion they should raise their hand and wait for the Chair to invite them to speak, at which time they should un-mute the microphone and mute it again after they have made their point. If any member has joined by telephone only the Chair will invite them to speak before moving to a proposal.
• When a proposal is required the Chair will ask the meeting and look for a Councillor who has raised their arm, the Chair will invite that Councillor to state their name and the proposal.
• The Chair will then ask for a Councillor to second the proposal and look for a Councillor who has raised their arm. The Chair will state the name of the Councillor who has seconded the proposal.
• The Chair will then ask all Councillors in favour to raise their hand and to keep it raised until he asks them to place it back down. The Chair will ask telephone participants to give their vote audibly. The Chair will confirm the number of Councillors voting in favour.
• The Chair will then repeat for any Councillor not in favour or who wants to abstain.
• “Standing Orders” will continue to be used to assist with the good management of a meeting.

WALC are using Zoom for online meetings, however other platforms are available, there is guidance of this in the NALC publication 'Holding Remote Meetings'

PDF Zoom Tutorials

• A step by step guide to using Zoom and joining a meeting 
• Setting up a zoom meeting

Zoom Tutorial Videos

•  Zoom tutorial - Getting Started with Zoom Meetings  38 minutes What is a Zoom Meeting. The basics with Zoom expert. We will cover scheduling, inviting others, host controls. (skip to 18 minutes in to jump straight to the hosting meetings section)
• Zoom tutorial - Zoom Meetings 1 hour Once you have completed the Getting Started with Zoom Meetings session, the Zoom expert will guide you through tour of Zoom Meetings, taking you beyond the basics.

Annual Parish Meetings (Assemblies)

Annual Parish Meetings (Assemblies)

updated 2 March 2021

The current coronavirus regulations which allow Parish and Town Councils to meet virtually end on the 7th May (last possible virtual meeting on the 6th). While I, and NALC have heard positive sounds from MP’s and government we are still waiting on this being extended. This is then a consideration for the Annual Meetings. 

The Annual Parish Meeting or Assembly needs to be held between 1^st March and the 1st June. Last year because there was no provision made in this timescale many Annual Parish Meetings were not held (although there were a few held in March before the first lockdown). However, the regulations were altered later in the year and now Annual Parish Meetings can meet virtually. Therefore, we would recommend to meet virtually before the 7th May, in case the virtual provisions are not extended in time. The Council could delay a decision on when to hold the meeting, if it is normally held later in May until the end of March in case the provision for virtual meetings is extended. Meetings of the community are better held face to face but this is still too early to safely do that this year.  You could always hold an additional Meeting later in the year when the situation has clearly improved as there is nothing to stop more than one Annual Assembly being held in a year.

Annual Parish Council Meetings

Annual Parish Council Meetings

updated 2 March 2021

The current coronavirus regulations which allow Parish and Town Councils to meet virtually end on the 7th May (last possible virtual meeting on the 6th). While I, and NALC have heard positive sounds from MP’s and government we are still waiting on this being extended. This is then a consideration for the Annual Meetings. 

The Annual Parish Council Meeting is held in May. This is the meeting where the Parish Council elects a Chairman (should be first item on the agenda) for the year. Last year the regulations allowed Councils to postpone or not hold this meeting. That provision won’t occur this year. Therefore, Councils will need to hold this meeting in May. We would recommend holding this meeting before the 7th May in case virtual meetings are not extended. 

In Rugby Area you may have the full 4 year election cycle taking place in which case you have to hold the meeting during the 14 days after the election.  As things stand that will have to be face to face but the lockdown timetable does not allow gatherings of more than 6 until 17^th May therefore that meeting would need to be held between 17^th and 20^th May and then only outdoors (and limited to 30 people)

If the Council is not happy about meeting face to face, and the regulations do not look as though they will be extended in addition to the advice above, we would recommend holding a Full Council meeting in late April to progress as much work as possible of the Council before the virtual meetings end. 

Councils are currently unable to meet face to face. As the lockdown eases it might be more likely to meet face to face after 21^st June. However, we would advise that all meetings are held virtually. If you do look to hold face to face meetings, then there are a number of things you must consider. 

1. Some people will not have had their first vaccine and most people will not have had their second vaccine 
2. Is the Clerk happy to meet face to face – especially if they haven’t received their vaccine. If this is the case there needs to be early discussions about when face to face meetings are suitable 
3. Risk assessment, is the venue large enough to socially distance, requirement to wear masks, space for members of the public, hand sanitiser, different entry and exits. 
4. Acoustics – even if you can meet the social distances required, will people be able to hear, especially with people wearing masks? 

Links to External Advice (National / County / District / Borough and other)

External Advice

 

National

• ACAS

  ACAS had put together a set of pages on advice for those employers dealing with Co-Vid 19

• COVID-19: testing for council workers

  Letter thanking councils in England for their support during the pandemic and outlining how staff can get tested.

• Gov.uk

  The latest Government guidance.

• How to help safely

  Government produced information

• ICCM

  Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management

• NALC

  The latest information from the National Association of Local Councils

• National Allotments Society

  The National Allotment Society is working to provide clarity for our members on what the virus outbreak and ensuing impacts will mean for Allotment Holders.

• NCVO

  Supporting charities and volunteers during coronavirus

• Share Checklist

  Before you like, comment or share online, use the SHARE checklist to make sure you’re not  contributing to the spread of harmful content. 

District / Borough / Local Information

• Birmingham City Council
• Coventry City Council
• North Warwickshire
• Rugby Borough Council
• Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
• Stratford on Avon District Council
• Warwick District Council
• Warwickshire CAVA

  WCAVA will continually update you of new developments around COVID-19 and local responses as they occur.

Warwickshire County Council

• Coronavirus - food supply advice
• Coronavirus - information and guidance
• Coronavirus - volunteering

  There are two sections on this page
  - Advice for the voluntary and community sector and town and parish councils
  - Advice for people who want to get involved

• COVID-19 Community-Led Support Groups

  A directory of the local 'community led support activity' that has emerged across Warwickshire in response to the global crisis. 

• Guidance on social distancing
• Mental Health Advice
• WCC Adult Social Care
• WCC Children Services COVID-19

Covid Shared resources (posters / flyers / guidance)