Agenda item

The Committee considered the undernoted report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

 

1.1            To consider amendments to Standing Orders to allow all meetings of the Council and its Committees to be held in a hybrid format, that is in-person and remotely.

 

2.0       Recommendation

 

2.1       The Committee is asked to agree the amendments to Standing Orders and to approve the Supplement to Standing Orders – Remote Meetings Protocol and Procedure Rules.

 

3.0       Main Report

 

            Background

 

3.1       Members will be aware that The Local Government (Remote Meetings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) “The Regulations” 2024 came into effect from 25th June 2024.

 

3.2       The Regulations makes provision for remote attendance at council and committee meetings by members of a council and requires the council to make standing orders regarding the decision to hold the meeting remotely, the conduct of a meeting and access by the public.

 

3.3       By way of background, Members will be aware that the Council has always been supportive of the introduction of legislation to allow Councillors to attend meetings on a remote basis. The Council had previously responded to a Call for Evidence from the Department for Communities back in early 2022 indicating that it supported proposals to have legislation put in place which would allow remote/hybrid meetings to be held on a permanent basis, legislation which had previously been available temporarily under the Coronavirus Act 2020.

 

3.4       As recently as 19th April, 2024, the Committee had agreed to write to the Minister for Communities requesting that the Local Government (Remote Meetings) Regulations (NI) 2024 be brought forward as quickly as possible.

 

 

Amendments to Standing Orders

 

3.5       The Regulations state at paragraph:

 

(5) A council must make standing orders governing remote attendance at meetings of that council, which shall—

 

(a)      specify the basis or process for considering whether (including who is to assess or decide whether) council meetings should or are to be held remotely;

(b)      govern the arrangements for and conduct of such meetings whenever such meetings are to be held remotely; and

(c)      regulate –

 

(i)     the public’s access to such meetings, and

(ii)   the availability to the public of documents pertaining to such meetings,

 

whenever such meetings are to be held remotely.

 

3.6       Regarding 5(a), given the Council’s previous views on the holding of remote meetings, it is suggested that Standing Orders should be amended to provide that the default position is that all meetings of the Council and its Committees shall be held remotely, that is, in a hybrid format so that Members may attend in person or remotely.

 

3.7       For 5 (b) the arrangements and conduct of meetings shall be governed by the Supplement to Standing Orders – Remote Meetings Protocol and Procedure Rules (set out in appendix 1).

 

3.8       In relation to 5(c), the public can access all Council and Committee meetings in-person.  In addition, these meeting are streamed live and can be accessed through the Council’s website.  All papers will be uploaded through the software as per normal procedures and this is also set out in appendix 1.

 

3.9       Therefore, it is proposed that Standing Orders be amended as follows:

 

2(a)    All meetings of the Council and its Committees shall be held remotely, that is in a hybrid format so that Councillors can attend in-person or remotely, in accordance with The Local Government (Remote Meetings) Regulations Northern Ireland (2024).

 

2(b) The arrangement and conduct, public access and availability of documents is set out in the Supplement to Standing Orders – Remote Meetings Protocol and Procedures Rules.

 

3.10     If the Committee is minded to agree to the amendments to Standing Orders then, following ratification by the Council and the expiry of the call-in period, it is proposed that the first meeting which will be convened in a hybrid format will be the September meeting of the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee.

 

3.11     The Protocol will be kept under review, with the authority delegated to the City Solicitor/Director of Legal Services to make any minor changes.  More substantial changes will be brought back to the Committee for approval.

 

Financial and Resource Implications

 

3.12     None associated with this report.  The Council already has the equipment and resources in place to host meetings in a hybrid format.

 

Equality or Good Relations Implications/

Rural Needs Assessment

 

3.13     None.”

 

Supplement to Standing Orders –

Remote Meetings Protocol and Procedure Rules

 

The Local Government (Remote Meetings) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 “The Regulations” which came into operation with effect from 25th June makes provision for remote attendance at council and committee meetings by members of a council and requires a council to make standing orders regarding the decision to hold a meeting remotely, the conduct of and access by the public.

 

This supplement should be read in conjunction with Standing Orders 2(a) and 2(b) which give effect to that.

 

Introductionand Applicationofthe RemoteMeetings ProcedureRules

 

This Protocol andProcedure Rules sets out the basis upon whichany remote meetingof theCouncil, and its various Committees, will be held.

This Protocol andProcedure Rules shouldbe read inconjunction with theCouncil’sStanding Orders. The Regulations make modifications to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

 

The effect ofthe Regulationson theAuthority’s Constitution isto insert whatare, ineffect,mandatoryStanding Ordersif the Council wishes to hold meetings remotely, either wholly or partially.

 

A reference in any enactment of a council or committee meeting is not limited to a meeting of persons all of whom, or any of whom, are present in the same place and a reference to a “place” where a meeting is held, or to be held, includes reference to more than one place including electronic, digital, or virtual locations such as internet locations, web addresses or conference call telephone numbers.

 

1.         Public Access

1.1            All meetings will be held in a hybrid format.

 

1.2            The public can access all meetings in-person.

 

1.3            In addition, these meetings will be streamed live, and can be accessed through the Council’s website. Those details will be published on the Council’s website and on social media.

 

1.4            It is important to note that the publicaccessing the meetingby remote means, as described here, isdifferentfrom the public attending to exercise a right tospeak. A technological failure removing the ability for the public to access themeeting by remote means does not render the whole or part of a meetingincapableof proceeding.  A member of the public who attends to exercise theirright tospeak and is unableto do so rendersonly their item incapable ofproceeding(This is set outparagraph3 below).

 

1.5            All documents for the meetings will be uploaded through the software as per normal procedures.

 

1.6            These will be available to the public via the Council’s website.

 

1.7            Access to meetings and documents will be limited for “exempt” issues as set out in paragraph 6.1.

 

2.               ManagementofRemoteMeetings forMembers

2.1            Democratic Serviceswill givethe requisite notice ofthe timeof themeeting, andthe agenda, together withdetails ofhow tojoin the meeting.

 

2.2            Members will be notified of a remote meeting by email and all agenda papers will be available on the Council’s website and the Modern.Gov app.

 

2.3            Remote access to meetings will be via Microsoft Teams.  The meetings will be facilitated by officers from Democratic Services and Digital Services.

 

2.4            Ifthis is notpossible, attendance maybe through an audio link or by electronicmeans.

 

2.5            Any Member participating ina meetingremotely, mustwhen they are speaking, be able to be heard (and be seen where practicable) byall otherMembers in attendance,and the remote participant must,in turn, beable tohear (and see where practicable) those otherMembers participating.

 

2.6            Inaddition,a remote participant mustbe able to be heard by,and in turn hearany membersof thepublic entitled to attend themeetingand whoexercise aright tospeak atthemeeting.

 

2.7            The Chairpersonwill normally confirm atthe outsetand atany reconvening of aCommittee meeting that they can see and hearall participatingmembers (this is unlikely to be practical for ameetingof full Council).  Any Member participating remotely should also confirm at the outset andat anyreconvening of the meetingthat they can see andhear the proceedings and theother participants.

 

2.8            Theattendanceof thosemembers atthe meeting will be recorded bytheDemocratic Services Officer.

 

2.9            The normalquorumrequirementsfor meetingsas set out in theCouncil’s Standing Orders will alsoapply toa remote meeting.

 

2.10        Intheevent ofany apparent failure ofthe video,telephone or conferencing connection,the Chairpersonshouldimmediatelydetermine if the meeting is still quorate:

 

·       if it is, then thebusiness of the meetingwill continue; or

·       if there isno quorum, thenthe meeting shalladjourn for aperiod specified by the Chairperson, expectedto be no morethan fifteen minutes,toallowthe connectionto be re-established.

 

2.11        Shouldany aspect ofa Member’s remote participationfail, the Chairperson maycall ashort adjournment of upto fiveminutes or soto determine whether theconnection can quicklybe re-established,either by video technologyor telephone in thealternative. If the connectionis not restored within that time,the meetingshould continue todeal with thebusiness whilst thishappens, providingthe meeting remains quorate and the public are ableto hear.

 

2.12        Inthe event of connection failure, the remote Member(s) will be deemedto have left themeeting at the point of failureand if the connection cannot be re- established to those Member(s) before the end of themeeting, then thepresumption will be that themeeting should continue to deal with the item(s).

 

2.13        If the connection is successfully re-established, then theremoteMember(s)will be deemed to have returned at the pointof re - establishment.

 

2.14        If a connection to a Member is lostduring a regulatorymeeting, the Chairpersonwill stop themeeting to enable the connection to be restored.  If theconnection cannot be restored withina reasonabletime, the meeting willproceed.

 

3.               Remote Attendance ofthe Public

 

3.1            Anymember of the public participating ina meeting remotely in exercise of theirrightto speakat Councilor in regulatory or other meetings must meetthe samecriteria asmembers of the Council.  Membersof thepublic attending a meeting remotelymust, likewise, when they are speakingbe ableto be heard (and ideally beseen) by all other Members inattendance,and the remoteparticipantmust, in turn, be able to hear (andideally see) thoseothermembers participating be so heard and, wherepracticable,be seenby any othermembers ofthe public attending themeeting.

 

3.2            A process is in place which requiresadvancenotificationfrom membersof the public wishing to attendremotely (if practicable). For those items ofbusiness, aninvitation toparticipate in theremote technology canthen be sent outin advance.

 

3.3            Alternatively,if the Council is unable toprovide a technological solution,the existing publicspeaking rights will be replaced withpublic participation by receipt of representations in writingonly, unless there is an express legislative provision which requires the person to be given the opportunity to appear before and be heard by the Committee.Submissionsreceived fromthepubliccan then be read outby the Chairperson or a supporting officer.

 

3.4            The Democratic Services Officer or meeting facilitator shouldmute the member of thepubliconce they have spoken, andremovethemfromtheremote meeting on theinstructionof the Chairperson,in order tomaintainthegoodadministration of the meetingor to retain order.

 

3.5            A breakdown ofthe technology shouldnot disadvantage themember of the public in remote attendance wherever possible.

 

            4.       Meeting  Procedures

4.1            DemocraticServiceswill facilitate the meeting.  Their rolewill be to control the video,telephone or conferencing technology employed for remote access and attendance and to administer the publicand Member interaction,engagement, andconnectionson theinstruction of the Chairperson.

 

4.2            Given the reliance on technology it is particularly important that those making proposals or amendments differing from orin addition to report recommendations should, where possible, ensure these are provided to Democratic Services in advance of the meeting also.  Political Parties are also encouraged to co-ordinate this activity wherever possible in respect of full Council meetings and other meetings likely to result in a high number of requests to speak. This is particularly important if Members are unable to participate via video conference.

 

4.3            The Chairpersonwill follow the rules set out inStanding Orders whendeterminingwho may speak, as well as the orderand priority of speakersand the contentand length of speechesin the normal way.

 

4.4            TheChairperson,at thebeginning ofthe meeting, will explain the protocol for member and public participationand the rules of debate. The Chair’s rulingduring the debate will be final.

 

4.5            Members are askedto adhere tothe following etiquette during remote attendanceat a meeting:

 

·         Committeemembersare askedto jointhemeetingno later than fifteenminutes before the start to allow themselves and themeetingfacilitator the opportunityto test theequipment.

 

·         Any camera(video-feed) should show anon-descript background or,where possible, a virtual background and members should be careful to notallow exempt or confidential papers tobe seen in the video-feed.

 

·           Mute the microphonewhen not talking.

·           Rather than raising one’s hand orrising tobe recognisedor to speak,Members should avail themselvesof the remote process forrequestingto be heard:

                       [e.g.,where available]

o Members are to use any chat facility to indicateto the Chairpersonthatthey wish tospeak.Members will unmute their microphone and turntheir camerason whenthe Chairpersoninvites them to speak.The chatfacility must notbe used for private conversationsbetweenCouncillors.

·         Only speak when invited to by theChairperson

·         Only one person may speakat anyone time

·         Turn onthe microphone and alsothe video-feed (if available or unlessspeaking toa diagram,presentation slideor drawing), thenstateyourname beforeyou makea comment

·         Whenreferringto aspecificreport, page,or slide, mention thereport,page, or slide sothat all members havea clear understanding of what is beingdiscussed at all times.

 

4.6            Where members of the publicare exercisingspeaking rights atthe meetingvia remote attendance,the Chairpersonwill, as partof theirintroduction,explain the procedure fortheir participationwhich will reflect those relevant elements ofthe above. Members ofthe public must adhere to this procedure otherwisethey maybe excludedfrom themeeting.

 

Voting

 

4.7            Whensatisfied that therehas been sufficientdebate, the Chairperson will ask for a proposer and seconder for the item being discussed and progress to making a decision. Unless aRecorded Vote is called, the methodof votingwill beas follows:

 

·             Where there is a clear recommendation(s) in a report, the Chairperson will put the recommendation(s) forward.  If there is no dissention then it is taken as agreed; or

 

·             If there is a single amendment to the recommendation(s) or an alternative proposal, the Chairperson will put this forward.  If there is no dissention then it is taken as agreed; or

 

·             Where there is dissention or more than on proposal/amendment, these will be dealt with in the normal manner by means of a vote.

 

 

·             Voting will take place as follows:

 

o   an officer will call out the name ofeach member presentwith:

o   membersstating ‘for’,‘against’,or ‘abstain’to indicatetheir votewhentheir name is called

o   theDemocratic Services Officer clearly stating the resultof the vote

o   once confirmedthe Chairperson will then moveonto thenext agenda item

 

4.8            Details ofhow Members voted will notbe minuted (the minutes will, as normal practice state the numbers for and the numbers against) unless aRecordedVote is called.Where a Recorded Vote is requested the Chair will askmembers in turn tosignify verbally whether or not they support that request.

 

Leaving a Meeting

 

4.9            Members leaving the meeting should use the chat facility or otherwise indicate to the Chairperson that they are exiting the meeting. Failure to do this will lead to an assumption that the Member has dropped out through a technology failure.  The meeting may be adjourned to re-establish the remote link or to utilise the alternative phone connection. The Chairperson of the meeting will check with Members, joined to the meeting by phone, if they wish to make any contribution during discussion on any item. As the technology will make it difficult to monitor drop out at a Council meeting at which 60 Members may be present, a number will be provided enabling a message to be conveyed by text to Democratic Services.

 

5                 DeclarationofInterests

 

5.1            Any Member participating ina remotemeetingwho declaresa disclosablepecuniary interest, or other declarableinterest, in any itemof business that would normally requirethemto leave the room, mustalso leavethe remotemeeting.Their departure will be confirmed bythe Democratic Services Officeror meeting facilitator,who will invite the relevant Member by link, email or telephone,to re-join the meeting at the appropriatetime.

 

6                 Exclusion ofPublic andPress

 

6.1            There aretimes when Councilmeetingsare not open tothe public,when confidential,or “exempt” issues(asdefined inSchedule6 ofthe LocalGovernment Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 are under consideration.Wherethe technology isavailable,theDemocratic Services Officer ormeetingfacilitatorwill ensurethat thereare nomembers ofthe publicinremoteattendanceor remotelyaccessing themeetingare able tohear or see theproceedings once theexclusion hasbeen agreed by themeeting.

 

6.2            EachMember in remote attendance mustensure and verbally declare thatthere are no other persons presentwho are not entitledto be(eitherhearingor seeing) consideration of such items, and/or recordingthe proceedings.

 

            The Committee agreed the amendments to Standing Orders and approved the Supplement to Standing Orders – Remote Meetings Protocol and Procedure Rules.