Council to hold first ever virtual meeting
The first ever virtual meeting of Shropshire Council will be held later this month under new legislation rushed through in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Councillors and officers will now be able to join meetings through a video conference call, after the government has temporarily removed the requirement for authorities to hold meetings in person.
The first virtual cabinet meeting will be held on April 29, with planning meetings also expected to go ahead in the new format. Most other committee meetings are however postponed until further notice.
Because of this, the council plans to temporarily scrap its rule on expelling councillors who do not attend a meeting for six months.
Other councillors, the media and the public will be able to listen live to the virtual meetings, complying with requirements that they are open to the public.
Questions from councillors and the public will be taken, with the chair of the meeting reading out the question and the relevant portfolio holder giving their response.
An extraordinary meeting of the council is set be held remotely in early May, with the sole purpose of extending the term of office of any councillor who would otherwise fall foul of the six-month rule and cease to be a councillor.
A council spokesman said: “This will enable all councillors to continue the vital work they do for the next six months, where it is likely that fewer meetings will be convened.
“The position can be further reviewed at the end of that period should it be necessary to do so.”
An explanation on how the virtual meetings will be run will be included in the agenda for each meeting, published the week before they occur on Shropshire Council’s website.
The council’s upcoming annual general meeting (AGM), scheduled for May 14 – at which the speaker and chairman for the ensuing year are elected – has been cancelled. Councillors holding the positions will remain in post until the next AGM in May 2021, or until the council decides otherwise.
Meanwhile Condover Parish Council has become the first of Shropshire’s 158 town and parish councils to hold a virtual meeting since the new legislation came in.
