Scope of this consultation
Topic of this consultation
This short consultation seeks views on the detail and
practical implications of allowing remote and hybrid attendance and
proxy voting at local authority meetings in England.
Scope of this consultation
Government is consulting on introducing powers for
local authority members to apply to the relevant authority for a
dispensation to attend formal council meetings remotely and vote by
proxy in certain circumstances.
If any changes to legislation are made as a result of
this consultation would apply to England only local authorities
meaning:
·
a county council
·
a unitary authority
·
a London borough council
·
a district council
·
the Common Council of the City of London
·
the Greater London Authority
·
the Council of the Isles of Scilly
·
a parish council
·
a joint board continued in being by virtue of section
263(1) of the 1972 Act
·
a parish meeting constituted under section 13 of the
Local Government Act 1972
·
Transport for London, Para.5 of Schedule 10 of the
GLA 1999 allows the GLA to regulate its own procedures and
committees
·
an authority established under section 10 of the
Local Government Act 1985
·
a joint authority established under Part 4 of the
Local Government Act 1985
·
a joint committee constituted to be a local planning
authority under section 29 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase
Act 2004
·
a combined authority established under section 103 of
the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act
2009
·
a combined county authority established under section
9 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023
·
a fire and rescue authority constituted by a scheme
under section 2 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 or a
scheme to which section 4 of that Act applies, or created by an
order under section 4A of that Act
·
a National Park authority as referenced at section
184 of the LGA 1972 and/or established under section 63 of the
Environment Act 1995
·
the Broads Authority established by section 1 of the
Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988
·
a conservation board established under section 86 of
the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
·
a police and crime panel established under section 28
of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011
Geographical scope
The questions in this consultation apply to all
relevant local authorities in England as defined above.
They do not apply to
authorities in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Impact assessment
If any policy changes are made following this
consultation they will be subject to appropriate assessment. No
impact assessment has been conducted at this time.
Basic information
This is an open consultation. We particularly seek
the views of individual members of the public; prospective and
current local authority members/representatives; all relevant local
authorities defined above; and those bodies that represent the
interests of local members/representatives at all
levels.
Body/bodies responsible for the
consultation
The Local Government Capability and Improvement
Division in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government is responsible for conducting this
consultation.
Duration
This consultation will last for 8 weeks from 24
October 2024.
Enquiries
For any enquiries about the consultation please
contact: remoteattendanceconsultation@communities.gov.uk
How to respond
You can only respond to this consultation through our
online consultation platform, Citizen Space.
Respond via Citizen Space.
Ministerial foreword
The government has set out its intention to reset the
relationship between central and local government as partners in
delivering better outcomes for the communities we collectively
represent. Key to this is supporting the sector to modernise
democratic engagement, raise standards and widen the range of
candidates standing for council by removing unnecessary
barriers.
The attendance of elected members at local authority
meetings is a core part of the democratic process at the local
level and is integral to members carrying out their functions
effectively. In addition to the value of members coming together to
debate and discuss the issues which impact the lives of the people
they represent; it is also important that local residents have the
opportunity to engage directly with the people they have elected to
take key decisions on their behalf.
At the same time, the government recognises that
there are circumstances in which it may not always be possible for
members to attend council meetings in person. It is with this in
mind that the government intends to amend the law to introduce
provisions for remote attendance at local authority
meetings.
The intent is that this increased flexibility will
strike the balance between the principle that significant in-person
engagement remains vitally important, and a recognition that there
will sometimes be a need to accommodate members’ requirements
to attend council meetings remotely. We hope it will encourage a
wider diversity of people willing and able to stand and actively
participate in local democracy by creating improved conditions
where meetings are accessible and inclusive.
In addition, we are seeking views on the possible
introduction of proxy voting for those occasions when an elected
member, due to personal circumstances, may be unable to attend even
remotely, for example during maternity, paternity or adoption
leave.
In line with the government’s commitment to
working with local government to establish partnerships built on
mutual respect, genuine collaboration, and meaningful engagement,
this short consultation seeks your views on the detail and
practical implications of this proposition to inform our ongoing
policy development.
Who we would like to hear from
Responses are invited from local authority elected
members, all types and tiers of authorities, and local authority
sector representative organisations. We are also particularly keen
to hear from those members of the public who have point of view
based on their interest in accessing local democracy in their area
or standing as a candidate for local government at any tier to
represent their local community at some future point.
Question 1
Please tick all that apply - are you responding to
this consultation as:
a) an elected member – if so please indicate
which local authority type(s) you serve on
·
Town or Parish Council
·
District or Borough Council X
·
Unitary Authority
·
County Council
·
Combined Authority / Combined County
Authority
·
Fire and Rescue Authority
·
Police and Crime Panel
·
Other local authority type - please state
b) a council body – if so please indicate which
local authority type
·
Town or Parish Council
·
District or Borough Council X
·
Unitary Authority
·
County Council
·
Combined Authority / Combined County
Authority
·
Fire and Rescue Authority
·
Police and Crime Panel
·
Other local authority type - please state
c) a member of the public
d) a local government sector body – please
state
The proposal for remote attendance
The government intends to legislate to give local
authorities the flexibility to allow elected members to attend
formal council meetings remotely. We believe that this modernising
measure of providing broad flexibility to enable remote attendance
will have the dual positive impacts of diversifying the
representation of those willing and able to stand for elected
office and enhance the resilience of local authorities in the face
of local or national emergencies.
The intent is that this legislative change would give
local authorities the flexibility to allow members to attend
remotely.
Question 2
Do you agree with the broad principle of granting
local authorities powers to allow remote attendance at formal
meetings?
Yes/No YES
If you answered No to the above question please go
directly to question 4.
Question 3
If you answered Yes to the above question, do you
think that there should be specific limitations on remote
attendance?
Please tick all the options below that correspond
with your view and use the free text box for any other
comments.
a) Any formal meeting allowing remote attendance
should have at least two thirds of members in physical
attendance.
b) Members should only be able to attend council
meetings remotely in exceptional circumstances, such as those who
are medically or physically unable to attend, or for reasons of
local or national emergencies.
c) There should be no limitations placed upon
councils with regard to setting arrangements for remote attendance
of council meetings, up to and including full remote
attendance. YES
d) [Free text box]
Question 4
If you are an elected member can you anticipate that
you personally may seek to attend some of your council meetings
remotely?
·
Yes YES
·
no
·
I am not an elected member
Question 4a
If you answered No please use the free text
below
[Free text box]
Question 4b
If you answered Yes, could you indicate below which
of the following options best describes your likely pattern of
attending meetings remotely
·
very occasionally
·
from time to time YES
·
regularly but not always
·
all the time
Question 5
If you are responding to this consultation on behalf
of a council as a whole, what proportion of the council’s
current elected members are likely to seek to attend council
meetings remotely over the course of a year?
·
less than 10%
·
more than 10% but less than 50% YES
·
more than 50% but less than 90%
·
most of them 90% to 100%
Question 6
The government recognises that there may be cases in
which it is necessary for councils to hold meetings fully remotely.
Do you think there should be limitations placed on the number of
fully remote meetings councils should be able to hold?
a) Councils should be able to allow full remote
attendance at up to half of council meetings within a twelve-month
calendar period.
b) Councils should only have the flexibility to
change a meeting from in-person to online, or vice versa, due to
unforeseen and exceptional circumstances.
c) Councils should not have the flexibility to
conduct fully remote meetings to ensure there is always an
in-person presence. YES
d) [Free text box]We need to
consider the role of the public in attending meetings particularly
when asking questions or addressing the committee.
Question 7
Do you think there are there any necessary procedural
measures that would help to ensure a remote or hybrid attendance
policy is workable and efficient?
Please tick all the options that correspond with your
view and use the free text box for any other comments.
a) Councils should be required to publish a list of
attendees joining the meeting remotely and give notice if a meeting
is being held with full remote attendance.YES
b) Councils should be required to ensure that
standard constitutional arrangements are followed for hybrid and
fully remote meetings. YES
c) Councils should be required to make arrangements
to ensure restricted items (where a council decision is taken in
private to protect confidentiality) are managed appropriately and
to require remotely attending members to join from a private
location. YES
d) Other [Free text box]
Question 8
Do you think legislative change to allow councillors
to attend local authority meetings remotely should or should not be
considered for the following reasons?
Tick all the statements below that apply to your
point of view.
|
Should be
considered because
|
Should not
be considered because
|
|
It is a positive
modernising measure.
YES
|
Councillors should be
physically present at all formal meetings.
|
|
It would likely increase
the diversity of people willing and able to stand for election in
their local area, making councils more representative of the
communities they serve.
YES
|
It could lead to a
significant number of councillors habitually attending remotely
and ultimately reduce the effectiveness of
councils.
|
|
Councils would be more
resilient in the event of local or national emergencies which
prevent in-person attendance.
YES
|
It would be more
difficult for councillors to build personal working relationships
with colleagues, and engage with members of the public in
attendance at meetings.
AGREE
|
|
Free text box –
please state any other reasons
|
Free text box –
please state any other reasons
|
Question 9
In your view, would allowing councillors to attend
formal local authority meetings remotely according to their needs
particularly benefit or disadvantage individuals with protected
characteristics, for example those with disabilities or caring
responsibilities?
Please tick an option below:
·
it would benefit members X
·
it would disadvantage members
·
neither
Please use the text box below to make any further
comment on this question.
[Free text box]
Proxy voting
Proxy voting is a form of voting whereby a
member of a decision-making body may delegate their voting power to
another representative to enable a vote in their
absence.
It is possible some members may find that, due to
their personal circumstances, they are temporarily unable to
participate in meetings even if remote attendance provisions are in
place. Provisions for proxy voting could provide additional
flexibility to those who really need it on a time-limited basis,
allowing affected members to indirectly exercise their democratic
duty, participate in their local authority’s governance, and
ensure that their views are taken into consideration. In the
context of local authorities, the representative would have to be
another elected member of the local authority.
Question 10
In addition to provisions allowing for remote
attendance, do you consider that it would be helpful to introduce
proxy voting?
·
Yes YES
·
no
·
unsure
Question 11
If yes, for which of the following reasons which may
prohibit a member’s participation in council meetings do you
consider it would be appropriate?
Please select all that apply:
·
physical or medical conditions YES
·
caring responsibilities YES
·
parental leave or other responsibilities
YES
·
other [Free text box]
Question 12
Are there circumstances in which you feel proxy
voting would not be appropriate?
[Free text box]
Question 13
If you think proxy voting is appropriate, are there
any limitations you think should be placed upon it?
[Free text box]There should
be a limit of occasions per annum when this is used by an one
councillor.
About this consultation
This consultation has been planned to adhere to the
Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.
Representative groups are asked to give a summary of
the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who
else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they
respond.
Information provided in response to this
consultation, including personal data, may be published or
disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes
(these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA),
the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), the UK General Data Protection
Regulation, and the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.
If you want the information that you provide to be
treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public
authority, the Department is bound by the Freedom of Information
Act and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the
information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you
could explain to us why you regard the information you have
provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of
the information we will take full account of your explanation, but
we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained
in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer
generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as
binding on the Department.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government will process your personal data in accordance with
the law and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that
your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full
privacy notice is included at Annex A.
Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless
specifically requested.
Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for
taking the time to read this document and respond.
Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed
the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other
observations about how we can improve the process please contact us
via the
complaints procedure.
Annex A: Personal data
The following is to explain your rights and give you
the information you are be entitled to under the Data Protection
Act 2018. Note that this section only refers to your personal data
(your name address and anything that could be used to identify you
personally) not the content of your response to the
consultation.
1. The identity of the data controller and contact
details of our Data Protection Officer
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG) is the data controller. The Data Protection
Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@communities.gov.uk
2. Why we are collecting your personal
data
Your personal data is being collected as an essential
part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you
regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also
use it to contact you about related matters.
3. Our legal basis for processing your personal
data
The Data Protection Act 2018 states that, as a
government department, MHCLG may process personal data as necessary
for the effective performance of a task carried out in the public
interest. i.e. a consultation.
4. With whom we will be sharing your personal
data
We use a third-party platform, Citizen Space, to
collect consultation responses. In the first instance, your
personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based
servers.
5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or
criteria used to determine the retention period.
Your personal data will be held for 2 years from the
closure of the consultation.
6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification,
erasure
The data we are collecting is your personal data, and
you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the
right:
a) to see what data we have about you
b) to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on
record
c) to ask to have all or some of your data deleted or
corrected
d) to lodge a complaint with the independent
Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling
your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the
ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or
telephone 0303 123 1113.
7. Your personal data will not be sent
overseas
8. Your personal data will not be used for any automated
decision making
9. Your personal data will be stored on a secure
government IT system
Your data will be transferred to our secure
government IT system as soon as possible after the consultation has
closed, and it will be stored there for the standard 2 years of
retention before it is deleted.