Councillors seek dispensation to be absent from meetings during coronavirus pandemic

Over 70s, pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions have been advised to take social distancing measures to reduce their risk of falling ill with Covid-19.

And for Hopton and Coton Parish Council, where four of the six members are aged over 70, the Government advice on social distancing means an end to normal meetings in the village hall for the time being.

A minimum of three councillors must be present for a Hopton and Coton Parish Council meeting to be “quorate” – or valid – but this will not be possible over the next few weeks.

On Thursday, March 19, five of the six councillors attended Hopton Village Hall with their clerk for an extraordinary meeting to consider how they will go forward in the coming months.

Clerk Sylvia Gibson told members they could apply for a dispensation to ask for leave of absence from meetings for up to six months. If they do not, and a meeting does not take place for more than six months, they may have to be re-elected or co-opted back onto the council.

Mrs Gibson said clerks had been asking questions about how council business should go forward in the current climate. She shared a comment she had seen from one that asked how residents would feel if councillors met, but one caught the virus and died.

Council chairman Paul Gilbert said: “They are considering video conferencing and changing the regulations, which is sensible.

“I think the easiest way of doing this is contact via email and telephone, so you are in contact with everybody. I think the way forward for meetings where we can is email – we can even conference call if necessary.

"Most of us have mobile phones so there is no problem with conference calls.”

Councils are legally required to hold an annual meeting before the end of June, but this is also set to be affected by the current situation – as is the annual audit process.

And in Hopton a meeting for residents to share their views as part of a new Neighbourhood Plan has had to be cancelled this month.

The parish is just starting out on the process of preparing its Neighbourhood Plan, which is set to provide a blueprint of how residents would like their area to develop in the coming years.