Once again democracy is back in the headlines. I’m thinking, firstly, of Parliament’s decision not to continue with hybrid operation and instead to adopt some methodology that only they could have thought sensible and practical. Whilst ADSO members have been toiling away at managing meetings in various forms and formats on our ever dwindling resources, Parliament has decided that that isn’t good enough for them despite the clear and obvious problems trying to revert to meeting in the Commons will have – social distancing, denying of rights of members with disabilities or vulnerable/shielded households and so on.
I’m not going to delve into whatever the rationale is for moving away from what most people regarded as a successful Parliamentary experiment as I fear I may be moving into political territory, but all I can do is to compliment and praise DSOs and governance officers up and down the country for keeping the democratic wheels moving so smoothly. I’m sure if one or two of you were given the reins at Parliament you might find a way of making it all work – maybe by using one of the many entertainment venues in the country that could accommodate everyone if it really is so important for our members of parliament to see the colour of each persons’ eyes?
#blacklivesmatter
Speaking of colour, my second issue is the shocking, utterly shocking, death of George Floyd in the USA which has highlighted once more that racism is awfully alive and well in the world’s so called largest democracy. I simply can’t comprehend how they can allow so many black people to be killed by the authorities who are charged with law and order. Spike Lee illustrated how this has happened through systemic generations of prejudice and societal disadvantage going right back to the “discovery” of the USA by Europeans, but the shock of seeing people murdered on the street is unbearable. Things are far from perfect in the UK, as the recent “Covid” attack on the transport worker Belly Mujinga showed, but local government has again led the way in fighting for equalities for 50+ years – at times being ridiculed for what has now become mainstream. We all need to learn from this and fight for a better world for everyone. At the risk of sounding cliched, #blacklivesmatter.
Hybrid Meetings
I’ve had my usual visit to the forums and am pleased to see them alive and well and solving many of your day to day problems. Our chair, John Austin, has added to the interesting thread on hybrid meetings with a request for your views on what should be in place after the current regulations expire in relation to both remote and hybrid sessions. Please take a look and respond. The more views we get, the stronger ADSO’s voice will be in any future lobbying.
Some may have seen the statement from the LGA at the end of last week saying that hybrid meetings are not lawful. As you are aware, the recent regulations set out a series of exemptions from the general prohibition on gatherings of more than 2 people indoors. The LGA stated that gatherings of more than 2 people in a room for a hybrid meeting do not satisfy the exemptions because firstly those concerned are not ‘fulfilling a legal obligation or participating in legal proceedings’ – local authority meetings they say are not legal proceedings. Secondly, the gathering cannot be said to be ‘reasonably necessary for work purposes…’ because unlike council staff, the statement says that councillors are not workers. In addition, the LGA added that the Flexibility Regulations 2020 allows members to attend meetings virtually, ie by phone or video link.
We are checking the source of the LGA legal advice and are meeting with Lawyers in Local Government on Tuesday 9 June to discuss our position. Watch the above forum thread for further information.
CfPS Survey
The Centre for Public Scrutiny is carrying out a brief survey of scrutiny arrangements in England to get a broad sense of where arrangements have restarted and what people are doing. The link is below and the closing date is Monday 15 June. Please take a look and return to CfPS if you can.
Link is https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/755WBHG.
ADSO-LGA support
As we have reported previously, we are working with the LGA and others to provide information and support during the current Covid 19 crisis via the LGA hub. This includes training packages. The LGA have asked for any good examples of chairing remote or hybrid meetings. So if you think that any of your chairs can be put forward as models of good practice, please send them through to John Austin (john.austin@adso.co.uk) as soon as possible.
Yours in democracy
Peter Savage, Company Secretary