Dispensation is to be sought for councillors who may be unable to attend Dorset Council meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
Whilst the majority of meetings are continuing virtually, the council has reduced or suspended some meetings.
The dispensation for Dorset councillors will be proposed at an extraordinary annual meeting to be held at 10am on Thursday 11 June.
Extra resources are required to run virtual meetings (for example, three democratic services officers are needed to support each meeting instead of the normal one officer).
Additionally, during the current pandemic, some of the council’s employees have been redeployed to provide extra support to vulnerable members of the community. This has reduced the number of employees dealing with ‘business as usual’ matters, and this will continue for the foreseeable future.
To ensure democratic business continues, Councillor Spencer Flower, Leader of Council, recently worked with the leaders of all the council’s political groups to agree a schedule of meetings.
These are: Cabinet; Audit & Governance Committee; three Area Planning Committees; Licensing Sub-committees; Resources Scrutiny Committee; and School Appeal Hearings. The Annual Meeting of Council has been postponed until 3 September 2020.
Meetings of the Health and Wellbeing Board and Joint Scrutiny Committee are also being arranged in response to the pandemic.
Councillor Flower said: “During these exceptional times, officers and councillors have worked hard to ensure democracy continues.
“However, as some councillors may not have the opportunity to attend a virtual committee meeting, due to illness or because they are appointed to committees that currently are not taking place, these measures will prevent them being disqualified as a Dorset councillor.”
If the recommendation is agreed, the dispensation would remain in force up to and including 6 May 2021.
The council has suspended face-to-face meetings since the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions. New regulations enable decision-making processes to continue in accordance with the Government’s guidance on social distancing.
See the agenda for the extraordinary annual meeting.
Members of the public are invited to submit a written question or statement related to the dispensation report by 8.30am on Monday 8 June 2020.
The internet-based meetings are hosted via Microsoft Teams Live Events. Follow the link here to access the livestream.
A web page details all the meetings being held virtually. This includes links to agendas and how to access the meetings live. Information is also provided about how to submit questions to meetings. Recorded meetings are also available to watch after they have ended.
