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Remote Council Meetings

Following the implementation of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and the issuing of the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 No.392 (the Regs), which provides councils with the powers to hold meetings remotely, maintain local democracy and allow critical decisions to be made during this public health crisis, we’ll use Skype for business to hold all public meetings.  The regulations are clear that a meeting is not limited to those present in the same place, but includes electronic, digital or virtual locations (internet locations, web addresses or conference call telephone numbers). The meetings may be both visual and audible or only audible for the public.

The public meetings include:

  • Cabinet
  • Full Council
  • Regulatory meetings, including Planning Committee where planning decisions are made
  • Overview and Scrutiny Committee
  • Audit, Governance and Standards Committee

Councillors will use Skype for Business to:

  • Take part in the meetings
  • Vote on agenda items

This will be reviewed as the current crisis evolves.

By participating on this public forum, your name or mobile number may be displayed and recorded. 

You can submit statements, questions and petitions ahead of the meetings, in accordance with the Council’s committee procedure rules as set out in the Council’s constitution, in the same way as usual however you cannot present a public submission at the meeting at the current time in person. 

The legal basis for this processing is ‘Public Task’ and ‘Legal Obligation’, in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, Localism Act 2011, the Local Government Act 2000 and the Council’s Procedural Rules.

By virtue of some of the topics brought, some criminal convictions, offences or related security measures data may be processed under Article 10 for authorisation by the law.

The data collected is:

  • Name
  • Contact details
  • Signatures in the case of petitions
  • DVLA information and Disclosure and Barring Services Enhanced Disclosure Certificate information

In some cases, the data is not collected directly from the data subject, but by a representative.

The majority of the information is transacted in public and published online.  If you ask a question, or participate in a discussion, some information about you will be included in this record.  We publish a record of all Council decisions and meetings, as well as any background information and reports that inform discussion.

The minutes and decisions of the virtual Committee meetings will be kept indefinitely in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

Background papers to reports are kept for current year + 4 years,

This information will not be shared/sold to any other service/organisation unless we have a duty to do so under law. 

The existing privacy notice relating to the democratic processes still stands and can be found here

The Council has a protocol for the filming and recording of public Committee meetings and the essence of this also remains. This can be found here