THE government is being urged to allow ‘flexibility’ for how council meetings are held, after Teignbridge councillors backed the option to hold virtual sessions.

A motion by leader Alan Connett (Lib Dem, Kenton & Starcross) was passed by the ruling executive this week, calling for a permanent change to the law to allow the council to hold virtual, hybrid or physical meetings ‘to suit the local context and needs of residents and councillors’.

English councils were allowed to hold meetings virtually in the pandemic until May 2021, when temporary legislation ended.

Unlike the rest of the UK, members now have to be present physically to vote but can still contribute to discussions remotely.

In October, Mid Devon asked the government to allow online meetings again, while last month a Torbay councillor expressed her ‘absolute disgust’ at Whitehall’s refusal to allow councils to meet virtually amid the spread of the Omicron covid variant.

Councillor Connett’s motion said: ‘The temporary enabling of virtual council meetings in response to the coronavirus pandemic allowed the council to continue making democratic decisions efficiently, transparently and safely without the need for physical meetings in one place.

‘We welcomed the return to in-person meetings where they can safely and efficiently take place, but also recognise the benefits to democracy of providing flexible meeting options, including opening up local democratic decision-making and creating a more accessible experience for councillors and the public.’

The motion cites various benefits from not having to meet and vote physically in-person, including that added ‘flexibility and increased accessibility could help to attract a wider range of potential councillors.’

It said the reduced travelling time improves efficiency for councillors, lowers the authority’s carbon footprint, saves on travel expenses, and helps improve attendance for members who sit on more than one council.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Connett added: ‘With the ascendancy of Omicron, it does strike me… that councils do need the flexibility to meet remotely and continue council business and for everyone’s safety – as well as being a modern way of working.’

Neighbouring East Devon District Council is currently getting around the rules by holding virtual meetings that only reach ‘indicative decisions.’ The chief executive or senior officers then make the final decision, although they are assumed to back whatever councillors decide.

However, Cllr Connett said: ‘That’s not something I particularly want to do at Teignbridge. Members were elected to do the job and to represent their communities and I think we should try to continue with that.’

‘But having seen remote meetings work and work well both here and at Devon (County Council), I can’t see any reason why we couldn’t, if we wanted to, adopt that practice.’

Deputy leader Alistair Dewhirst (Lib Dem, Ipplepen) acknowledged that while the motion was originally submitted before the spread of Omicron, he suggested a line be added about medical safety.

Cllr Connett agreed for it to be included in the letter sent to Westminster.

Members of the executive voted to write to the government and the area’s MPs for a rule change and to continue to explore the use of technology to ‘develop online meetings to attract a wider audience once our request has been successful’.