The show must go on – as Brixworth Parish Council holds its first ‘virtual’ full council meeting

The tweet from the PM was shared widely and showed how technology has made it easier to conduct government affairs despite the strict social distancing measures currently being implemented to try and flatten the coronavirus curve.

And with local authorities unable to hold open meetings to conduct essential business, the virtual meeting is likely to be the new norm for the coming weeks and months.

But one Northamptonshire council had already beaten Boris and co to it, as Brixworth Parish Council hosted its first ‘virtual’ council meeting on Monday night [March 30], with its planning committee determining the latest applications.

As the Local Democracy Reporter for the area, and with a dearth of the usual meetings for me to cover – the bread and butter of my job – I asked if I could take part in their virtual full council meeting last night (March 31).

With the agenda published online, members of the public and press could request to take part, and so I emailed parish clerk Peter Rowbotham and promptly received details on how to join the online hangout.

Using Microsoft Teams technology, it allowed each of the councillors and officers to log in and choose whether they wanted to be shown on camera or not.

I live with five housemates and with all the communal areas fully occupied with either Netflix binges or cooking and cleaning, I attended my first ever council meeting from the comfort of my own bedroom. As such I chose to keep the camera switched off, perhaps conscious of councillors passing critique on my DVD or book collection.

As councillors logged in there were some early teething problems with people speaking at the same time. And should someone cough – something frowned upon in the current climate – the screen would focus in on the offending councillor. But they soon got to grips with the new system.

Nevertheless, the usual rigours of the council meeting still had to be observed, including signing off the last minutes, declaring interests and a health and safety message [“If there’s an emergency, you all know the way out of your own house.”]

For Brixworth Parish Council, it was important for business to continue as usual. The agenda made that much clear, stating: “Some councillors have been minded to simply mothball the council for several months and do nothing. This is not an option. The work of the council must continue, and it must continue to meet its statutory obligations.”

The meeting was considerably shorter with it lasting just 54 minutes, and was split into three sections. The first was for any decisions to be taken, the second to receieve information, and the third for any confidential items to be discussed, upon which I would be virtually booted out of the room.

Councillors and observers could follow the agenda papers being referred to in a powerpoint style presentation on screen.

Early decisions taken included paying the bills, such as electricity for the Ashway changing rooms or paying for new paving slabs, and also a business continuity plan to outline how it would tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

This included holding further meetings virtually; agreed to the closure of the Brixworth Information Point, the community centre and its play areas; cancelling the planned VE Day celebrations and to award some emergency delegated powers to the clerk of the council to take decisions if it cannot convene a meeting in time.

Also present is a resident who is helping pull together community volunteers during the pandemic. She says he has been ‘heartened’ by the community response, with over 100 volunteers coming forward to help vulnerable members of the village.

All in all it feels like a regular council meeting, and Councillor Stephen James says it has been ‘a good experience’ as the meeting draws to a close.

Overall, it worked well. The caveat to this is that Brixworth is a parish council, and therefore doesn’t have a huge amount of members. There were less than 20 on the call so it felt reasonably organised.

Emergency legislation from the government is expected to allow councils to hold more virtual meetings in a temporary period.

The big question remains whether larger councils, such as Northamptonshire County Council and all 57 of its councillors, will be following suit.

It’s all still up in the air. But in Brixworth at least, the show must go on.

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