Before COVID-19 official council meetings were legally required to be held face to face. Then suddenly lockdown meant a different way of meeting was needed. With the benefit of Zoom, council meetings have continued to be held and made available for the public to watch. Are they an improvement or should we return to meeting face to face?

In the days before COVID-19 district councillors would travel from across East Cambridgeshire to meet face to face in the council offices in Ely. The meetings were open to any member of the public to attend with the exception of confidential or exempt matters which would usually be discussed in private towards the end of meetings. On most occasions few if any members of the public attended, the exceptions being when significant or controversial topics were on the agenda. Examples in the past year have been when the council debated declaring a Climate Emergency and when it decided to withdraw funding for the Ely Citizens Advice Bureau service.

With the introduction of the COVID-19 lockdown in March face to face meetings were no longer possible. New legislation was rushed through parliament in April to give local councils the legal authority to meet virtually for the first time. This is currently only a temporary measure and will expire in May 2021 if no further legislation is passed. Councils adapted their meeting procedures and within a couple of months virtual meetings began. Some councils have chosen to use Zoom, a few are using Microsoft Teams. The county council, district council and some parishes also live stream their meetings to YouTube with recordings available online enabling residents to view the meeting at a later date.

The virtual meetings have gone very well. Of course there were a few IT issues initially as councils and councillors got used to online video meetings but meetings have run very smoothly.

District councillors no longer have to drive across East Cambridgeshire to attend meetings. The reduction in travel is even greater for the county council where previously councillors would have to travel from all corners of Cambridgeshire sometimes to attend a meeting lasting under an hour. Not only are virtual meetings a more efficient use of councillors’ time but the reduced travel also reduces the carbon footprint of council meetings.

Virtual meetings are much more accessible for any member of public who has an internet connected computer, tablet or phone. They too no longer have to travel to the council offices or sit through a long meeting where there is maybe only one item that really interests them. They can watch the meeting in real time or catch up on the recording at a later date. Of course not everyone has online access and ‘digital exclusion’ is an important issue which needs to be addressed as more and more services go online.

It also seems to me that councillors have improved their conduct at meetings. This is of course just my opinion but I believe that because councillors know they are on video and their contributions are being recorded they adjust their behaviour in meetings.

What are your thoughts? Have you watched an online council meeting? Have you missed face to face council meetings or do you have better access to council meeting debates now they’re available online?

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