Teston Parish Councillors are summoned and members of the public and the press are invited to attend an extraordinary meeting of Teston Parish Council, called by the Chairman, which will take place via Zoom video-conferencing on 16th June 2020 at 7.30pm.
In response to the current COVID-19 situation and to facilitate on-going business of Parish Councils and other parties in accordance with Government guidelines on social-distancing and other measures, on 4th April The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 came into force (and it expires on 6th May 2021). It authorises “virtual meetings” (i.e. with remote participation), provided remote participants are able:
(a) to hear, and where practicable see, and be so heard and, where practicable, be seen by, the other members in attendance,
(b) to hear, and where practicable see, and be so heard and, where practicable, be seen by, any members of the public entitled to attend the meeting in order to exercise a right to speak at the meeting, and
(c) to be so heard and, where practicable, be seen by any other members of the public.
While Teston Parish Council is unable to hold its normal meetings every other month in the Village Hall, it will continue its business through a combination of:
- an Exceptional Delegated Authority (EDA) procedure that it inserted into its Standing Orders on 31st March that enables the Clerk to take any necessary decisions and actions on behalf of the Parish Council, having consulted Parish Councillors by email; and
- an occasional Extraordinary Meeting utilising Zoom, with access details and agenda placed on the village noticeboard and, if publication timetable permits, in Tapestry. The intention is that these Zoom meetings will be brief to take any decisions that can only be taken at a formal meeting (either face-to-face or virtual).