South Tyneside Council says there is 'no lockdown of local democracy' over full council meetings

The council has insisted there is “no lockdown of local democracy” after questions were raised about full council meetings not taking place during the Covid-19 crisis.

Following the Government’s national lockdown in March to prevent the spread of the virus, many local authorities across the country embraced digital technologies to allow meetings to take place safely.

In South Tyneside, the council now holds the majority of its meetings virtually which are broadcast live on YouTube.

But full council meetings, which would normally see all 54 elected councillors debate motions, have not taken place since February.

Last week, the authority’s sole Green Party councillor, David Francis, wrote to Labour council leader, Cllr Iain Malcolm, calling for the issue to be addressed “as a matter of urgency.”

This included a request for full council meetings to “resume by November 2020 at the latest.”

“I’m aware that remote meetings would require council officers and elected members to work in a slightly different way, but these obstacles have been overcome by many other local authorities, including those with considerably more elected members than South Tyneside,” Cllr Francis said in the letter.

“I have every confidence in our council officers and elected members to rise to the challenge and embrace this new approach to full council meetings.

“There is no need for a lockdown on local democracy.

“The people of South Tyneside deserve the same level of representation as their neighbours in Sunderland, Gateshead, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Northumberland.

“All of these areas are holding full council meetings remotely at this time.”

In a statement, South Tyneside Council said technology issues have prevented full council meetings from taking place during the pandemic.

Despite exploring solutions to help meetings run smoothly in future, the council has not indicated when full council meetings will restart.

A council spokesperson said: “We would like to reassure people that there is no lockdown of local democracy.

“We have worked extremely hard to ensure the democratic process continues to operate effectively amid the coronavirus pandemic and council meetings continue to take place.

“Within weeks of legislation being passed giving councils the power to hold public meetings virtually, South Tyneside Council was one of the first in the region to hold meetings via Zoom, with cabinet held on April 29.

“These virtual cabinet meetings enabled to council to carry on its vital work at a critical time, considering any statutory or urgent matters while maintaining transparency in the decision-making process.

“Throughout the pandemic, more meetings have been held virtually, such as the council’s regulatory services and community area forums, and where required, members of the public are given the opportunity to ‘attend’ using live streaming.

“While we are keen to hold a virtual borough council using video or teleconferencing technology, the logistics of effectively managing a much larger meeting with the participation of 54 councillors does present us with challenges.

“We continue to explore and test the technology needed to do this, with learning from some of the technical issues identified in other council areas.

“When we resume the meetings, we want them to run smoothly so that we can conduct our businesses without too many problems.”

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