Councillors were slammed for debating an "unnecessary" motion on the issue of face-to-face meetings for more than an hour. A motion by Vale of Glamorgan Council members George Carroll, Russell Godfrey and Rhys Thomas was presented at a full council meeting on Monday, July 18, calling for future meetings to be held in hybrid format.
The councillors claimed that in-person meetings allow for more effective scrutiny and decision making than meetings that are held virtually. However, it was pointed out that the council already has plans to roll out hybrid meetings as soon as enough members have received the necessary training to use the webcast platform Civico.
Leader of the Plaid Cymru group at the Vale Council, Cllr Ian Johnson, slammed councillors for wasting over an hour of the meeting, saying bringing the issue up was "like having a motion on the sun rising tomorrow". "It is going to happen anyway," he said.
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Presenting the motion to his fellow council members, Cllr Carroll said: "Other councils across Wales have already moved to the hybrid model, but it is a matter of regret that we are still meeting like this virtually." He added that he thought it "imperative" that the council moved towards a hybrid model as soon as possible.
The presentation sparked a lively debate around the merits and constraints of virtual meetings, with many councillors pointing out they have allowed for greater transparency. Deputy council leader Cllr Bronwen Brooks said virtual meetings have allowed better access for members of the public who might not be able to attend in person and there have been "huge numbers" of people attending these.
However, councillors in favour of the motion brought forward at council said virtual meetings had presented serious technical challenges that could potentially hinder the democratic process. Cllr Stephen Haines pointed to members of the public living in more rural parts of the Vale who might not be able to view council business due to IT issues.
One councillor referred to a meeting last week, in which a member's vote had to be communicated to another member via mobile phone due to technical difficulties. Not long after Cllr Johnson commented that the motion could have instead been a question on what point the roll out of hybrid meetings in the Vale was at, Cllr Carroll attempted to clarify the motion was an attempt to draw attention to the topic.
He said there was a need to "speed along" with the process of setting up hybrid meetings. Cabinet members voted to progress with a plan to facilitate hybrid meetings on April 25. Most councils in Wales are in the process of facilitating hybrid meetings for the future or already hold them.
Council leader, Cllr Lis Burnett, acknowledged the debate was "an hour and a quarter" of their lives they "won't get back", but highlighted the importance of the topic of how councils meet. She said: "We are moving fast towards hybrid meetings, but you try it out where you can control it. "The move towards multi-location meetings is important and it is happening. It increases the diversity of democracy."
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