New covid restrictions have caused one Merseyside council to suspend its final full council meeting of the year.
Knowsley Council was due to hold the meeting next Wednesday to discuss amendments to the council’s constitution, a review of the borough ’s gambling policy and proposed boundary changes.
A report about an executive decision “taken as a matter of special urgency” about how the council’s household support fund is to be spent was also on the agenda.
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However, after the government announced last night that ‘Plan B’ was to be implemented in the face of growing numbers of omicron cases, meaning people should work from home wherever possible, Knowsley Council have taken the decision to cancel the meeting due to covid concerns.
A Knowsley Council spokesperson said: “The full meeting of the Council which was due to take place on Wednesday 15 December 2021 will be deferred until the New Year as there were no time critical items of business on the agenda for the meeting.”
A planning committee meeting due to be held this evening will go ahead as scheduled, with people able to watch proceedings via livestream.
Knowsley Council’s move comes as neighbouring Liverpool Council voted unanimously to request the government introduce legislation allowing a return to ‘hybrid’ meetings, where councillors can attend remotely or well as face to face.
Sefton Council have confirmed there are no current plans changes to how council meetings will take place in light of yesterday’s government announcement.
The Local Government Association LGA) has also called on the government to ensure councils are able to return to online meetings due to the threat of omicron variant, with a statement on the Local Government Association website saying: “In light of the Government announcing a move to remote working to slow down the spread of the new Omicron variant, the Government must urgently bring forward emergency legislation to allow councils to hold meetings remotely as well as hybrid.
“Holding face-to-face council meetings, with supporting staff, could easily involve up to 200 people in one room even before adding in members of the public and reporters.
“This is an unnecessary public health risk for elected members and officers to take when councils have demonstrated over the pandemic that it is possible to hold formal decision-making meetings in a remote or hybrid manner.”
The statement adds: “By introducing emergency legislation to allow councils to hold remote or hybrid meetings, councils will be taking further steps to slow down the spread of the Omicron variant as well as ensuring councils can continue to make democratic decisions, even during times of emergency.”
Regulations which allowed councillors to attend meetings virtually came to an end on May 7 and were not extended, meaning councillors have been required to attend meetings in person since that date.
Many councils set restrictions on attendance numbers or have been making use of alternative buildings to allow increased social distancing after that date, with members of the public who wish to attend being in some cases required to register in advance to ensure meeting numbers stayed within guidelines.
While Sefton Council stopped livestreaming most proceedings once in person meetings had restarted, Knowsley, Liverpool and Wirral councils have continued to livestream, which means members of the public have been able to continue to watch remotely.
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