S101 Delegation and Virtual attendance after 7 May 2021

Question

2 questions please..

1. Is it permissible for a Parish Council to hold physical meetings but permit a Cllr to attend by zoom. If it is not permissible what effect does the Councillors participation have on resolutions made and reports & contributions to discussions the "virtual Councillor"makes - this type of attendance has been made at 4 meetings since the 7th of May at our local Parish Council.

2. This gets more confusing; at the 2th May meeting, the council approved s101 Delegation to the Parish Clerk. However, they physically met June / July and passed resolutions and recorded the meetings with the virtual councillor in attendance. In September they claimed it was a consultation meeting but recorded minutes and passed resolutions. When questioned the Clerk said an informal meeting was not numbered.  Can anyone throw any light on the process and is it legal. Also if not legal what is the complaints process.

Thank you

Answer 1

Attendance by Zoom is no longer permitted, however, the fact that a member has attended in this way does not invalidate the proceedings, unless those present in the room were insufficient to constitute a quorum.

Did the motion to use S101 define which of their powers the council wished to delegate to the clerk?

Comments

Thanks DavetheClerk

Re your answer so its Ok for a Councillor to participate and register a vote, support or object to items on the agenda ?
Re the motion to use S101 - this is the motion carried.
S101 Delegation
"Owing to the change in remote meeting legislation as of 7 May 2021, the
Council was able to consider delegating its powers to an officer should it wish
to continue to meet remotely. The Council approved to delegate its powers to
the Proper Officer, subject to council consultation. All statutory obligations of
the Council to still be presented at face-to-face meetings".

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Zoom is only permitted for members of the public, so a councillor participating in a meeting by Zoom would have no powers as a councillor. They should not participate in the debate and their vote should not be counted.

The Section 101 motion is poorly worded. A council cannot meet remotely. They could meet as a group of friends, but would have no legal powers. If you delegate to the Proper Officer subject to council consultation, who makes the decision? It's either delegated, or it isn't. What are the statutory obligations of the council? Does that encompass any obligation placed upon the council by statute? In other words, almost everything you do?

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Thank You DavetheClerk