Adderbury Parish Council (APC) cancelled its last meeting because of the coronavirus social distancing rules. A notice has appeared on the APC website saying that the next meeting will be “virtual”.
Emergency legislation allows local councils, including parish councils, to hold meetings remotely by using telephone conference call numbers and internet video conferencing.
Residents have a legal right to attend all council meetings and the new legislation says that this extends to virtual meetings. Legally, APC must allow residents to participate in the meeting, but APC have yet to make any details available.
At a minimum, the public must be able to see or hear what is happening at the meeting in real time – a recording to be watched at a later date would not meet the legal requirements. Hopefully APC is aware of the law and will let us know how we can attend the virtual meeting.