Agenda item

To consider a report regarding virtual meeting implementation for Council meetings and the next steps for potential hybridised meetings

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 25 to 30, which outlined the implementation of virtual Council meetings, and potential next steps moving forwards.

The report stated the initial options considered during the beginning of national lockdown, and the reasons behind why some options were not implemented. A standard Microsoft Teams meeting was chosen, and broadcast using the Open Broadcasting Software (OBS) facility. This allowed the ‘flow’ of a virtual meeting to be as close to that of a standard physical meeting as possible.

The report also outlined the next steps in Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC’s) approach to holding Council meetings, including the possibility of hybridised meetings. Hybrid meetings would provide several logistical and technical challenges, however officer were working to provide solutions to be able to run these meetings in the future, in a safe and professional manner.

The report stated a selection of achievements associated with the running of virtual meetings, including running the full schedule of meetings for the past few months, and the livestreaming of all public meetings on WBC’s YouTube page.

Anne Hunter (Lead Democratic and Electoral Services Specialist) and Callum Wernham (Democratic and Electoral Services Specialist) attended the meeting to answer any Member queries.

During the ensuing discussions Members raised the following points and queries:

·           Should hybrid meetings go ahead, Members within the Council Chamber would need to see and hear the same as those within the virtual call. Officer response – This was agreed, and several tests would be carried out internally prior to any public meeting being held. Participants, whether virtual or within the Council building, would see and hear as close to the same content as was possible.

·           The running of virtual meetings had meant several other benefits had occurred, including less heating of the Council offices for evening meetings. This in turn met the Council’s climate emergency objectives, in addition to allowing participants to join the meeting from wherever was convenient. Hybrid meetings could present additional issues, including the cleansing of the Council chamber after meetings, additional travel to and from the Council offices, and additional heating of the building for evening meetings. Officer comment – Officers had been asked to look into the possibility of running hybrid meetings as there had been an appetite to do so from some Members. Hybrid meetings would not be ran unless they were safe for all attendees. Going forward, the plan was to webcast all meetings whether virtual, hybrid or physical. The positive climate benefits of holding virtual meetings were acknowledged by officers, in addition to the logistical benefits of being able to join a meeting from somewhere convenient.

·           How many people could attend a hybrid meeting safely? Officer comment – Subject to ongoing government guidance, twenty people could be accommodated safely within the Council Chamber using a two metre separation distance. For now, only the Council Chamber could be considered for hybrid meetings due to the capacity of the room and the implementation of technology in order to enable hybrid meetings.

·           Going forward, were there any plans to offer additional support to Members in terms of participating in virtual or hybridised meetings? Officer response – Any Members wishing to have additional training with Microsoft Teams could approach Democratic Services for a training slot to be arranged. Any Chairman who would be chairing a hybridised meeting would be offered additional training.

·           Could the virtual meeting protocol be reinforced for attendees that were not following the procedure? Officer response – Attendees could be reminded of, and referred to, the virtual meeting protocol as agreed by Council.

·           Was there the ability to mute participants and turn off participants’ video during a meeting? Officer response – Democratic Services officers were able to mute participants that may have forgotten to turn off their microphone. Officers would message a user who may have forgotten to turn off their video, asking them to do so. A last resort would be the removal of the participant from the call, and this would only occur after several reminders and persistent disruptive behaviour.

·           Had an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) been carried out with regards to the holding of virtual meetings? Officer response – An initial EQIA had been carried out, and was appended to the virtual meeting protocol report as agreed by Council. The EQIA identified a ‘no/neutral’ impact in 6 of the 9 protected categories, and a low impact in the remaining 3. Subtitles were available on the YouTube video to give viewers a good representation of the discussions at the meetings.

·           Were there any voting modules associated with Microsoft Teams? Officer response – Currently, only the ‘hands up’ feature was integrated within teams to allow for voting.

·           The Chairman proposed that a letter be written to the Minister for Local Government, asking that the regulations allowing for specific virtual meetings to take place be made permanent, at the discretion of each Local Authority. It was noted that some meetings may not be appropriate for virtual attendance in perpetuity, and these details could be agreed by each Local Authority at a later date should regulations permit. This proposal was agreed by the Committee. Officers commented that it was hoped that a consultation regarding virtual meeting regulations would be carried out by the Government.

·           Regarding meeting broadcasting, how many officers were undertaking this task? Officer response – Originally, one Democratic Services officer undertook the broadcasting of all meetings. After a short time, a further two colleagues situated within the IT department have also been broadcasting Council meetings. The limiting factor was the required upload speed available at the homes of staff members. Many broadband providers were inundated with requests for upgrades and maintenance, making it difficult for staff members to upgrade their connection to the required level. It was hoped that further staff members would have the required upload speed in future.

RESOLVED That:

1)     Anne Hunter and Callum Wernham be thanked for attending the meeting;

2)     Members contact Democratic Services with any practical suggestions on how virtual meetings may be improved in the future;

3)     Members continue to work alongside Democratic Services to enable effective Council meetings to be held;

4)     A letter be sent to the Minister for Local Government, asking that the regulations allowing for specific virtual meetings to take place be made permanent, at the discretion of each Local Authority. The most suitable route for this communication, be that from the Committee, the Executive, the Council, or from the Chief Executive, would be explored outside of the meeting.