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+1 vote
As expected the Government has relaxed the rules regarding attendance at meetings. The snappily-titled "Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020" come into force on Saturday (4 April) allowing video-conferencing and other substitute arrangements.
by (52.9k points)

2 Answers

0 votes

Wonderful news, At last all we have to do now is get everyone up to speed on using Zoom (have been using it for years). That might prove to be a major issue, we have had some signs of resistance already. I have created  a 4 movie series last week on how to use the system, so if any one wants a link and it's OK with admin your welcome to it.

by (340 points)
Yes please PhilF - if you could send the link.
Don't forget that Zoom has a telephone dial-in for technophobes. You won't be able to see their happy smiling faces, but they will be able to participate fully in the meeting. This might be a useful feature to allow public access, as it'll be enough of a challenge to remotely install it on the Councillors' devices, without having to offer this service to the entire electorate!
As of 5th April Zoom has changes its defaults  for security. I have yet to update the movie series but here is the notice they sent me ..

Dear Valued Customer,
We’re always striving to deliver you a secure virtual meeting environment. Starting April 5th, we’ve chosen to enable passwords on your meetings and turn on Waiting Rooms by default as additional security enhancements to protect your privacy.
Meeting Passwords Enabled “On”
Going forward, your previously scheduled meetings (including those scheduled via your Personal Meeting ID) will have passwords enabled. If your attendees are joining via a meeting link, there will be no change to their joining experience. For attendees who join meetings by manually entering a Meeting ID, they will need to enter a password to access the meeting.
For attendees joining manually, we highly recommend re-sharing the updated meeting invitation before your workweek begins. Here’s how you can do that:
Log in to your account, visit your Meetings tab, select your upcoming meeting by name, and copy the new meeting invitation to share with your attendees. For step-by-step instructions, please watch this 2-minute video or read this FAQ.
For meetings scheduled moving forward, the meeting password can be found in the invitation. For instant meetings, the password will be displayed in the Zoom client. The password can also be found in the meeting join URL.
Virtual Waiting Room Turned on by Default
Going forward, the virtual waiting room feature will be automatically turned on by default. The Waiting Room is just like it sounds: It’s a virtual staging area that prevents people from joining a meeting until the host is ready.
How do I admit participants into my meeting?
It’s simple. As the host, once you’ve joined, you’ll begin to see the number of participants in your waiting room within the Manage Participants icon. Select Manage Participants to view the full list of participants, then, you’ll have the option to admit individually by selecting the blue Admit button or all at once with the Admit All option on the top right-hand side of your screen.  For step-by-step instructions, please watch this 2-minute video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySas2Rgi6yA&feature=youtu.be

Check out these resources to learn How to Manage Your Waiting Room and Secure Your Meetings with Virtual Waiting Rooms.
For more information on how to leverage passwords and Waiting Rooms to secure your meetings, please visit our Knowledge Center, attend a daily live demo, or visit our Blog.
Please reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions at *Emails are not allowed*.
Thank You!
Team Zoom
Thank-you PhilF for the link and guidance.
As I am at home  all the.........Time I am happy to do a 121 with anyone on zoom, show you the how  and the why..... IMO its the best way forward for all PC's and TC's
0 votes
Unfortunately remote meetings do not apply to Wales.  I have seen comments that it is going through but has not happened yet. Is there any Welsh members with information? I cannot find anything on the Welsh government website.
by (2.8k points)
It's on its way, but the Assembly is in recess for Easter now. It was mentioned in the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Coronavirus Bill, LCM-LD13106 para 34. Look out for the agenda for the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee meeting on 22 April.
Thank you. Very helpful.

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