Wrexham Council could move to “hybrid meetings” post pandemic following success of livestreaming

Wrexham councillors could move to a “hybrid” way of attending meetings post-pandemic.

Prior to covid-19 Wrexham Council held multiple meetings a month in either the main Guildhall chamber or associated committee rooms at the town centre office.

However even then only planning, executive board, full council and some scrutiny committees were webcast live due to the purchase-per-hour deal with the webcasting provider.

No council meetings have been held in the Guildhall since the start of March 2020, with many council staff and councillors working remote inline with the official guidance to work from home if possible.

However in May councils were asked by the Welsh Government to consider “how they can resume some of the normal activity, how they can use arrangements that they have in place to allow scrutiny of the decisions they make, and to make sure that the public are aware of those decisions”.

Initially meetings, which were recorded via Zoom, were only available to councillors and media who were invited to view the proceedings. The meetings were later uploaded on the council website for the public.

In recent months all meetings have been streamed via Zoom, with meetings such as the Audit Committee and Environmental Licensing broadcast live for people to view for the first time.

Whilst some senior councillors and officers have been present in their council offices for the meetings, the vast majority have been ‘dialling in’ remote from their homes.

This week members of the Democratic Services committee – which has also been streamed for the public for the first time – discussed how meetings could operate in the future and whether a move to a more permanent hybrid way of working was on the way.

This could include some councillors present in the Guildhall chamber or meeting room, with others dialling in via the likes of Zoom.

Asking about how future meetings post-covid could work, councillor John McCusker said a mixture of in person and virtual was the “way it was going to go”.

He said: “Will it be up to the chair of that meeting to decide whether they wants to have it in the Guildhall or a Zoom meeting, whose decision is it?

“Also are we going to get to a situation where, if you like, there was a full council meeting and 10 people who live afar or not well can attend Zoom when people are at the Guildhall.

“Can you get a situation where you get a mixture of the two, because I think this is this is the way we’re going to go.

“There’s not going to be as many face to face meetings unfortunately. But we’ve got to save the money, we’ve got to save fuel and we’ve got to save time.

“I do as many Zoom meetings outside of the council as I do in the council because I’m on that many committees and people are quite often running from one place to another.

“But do you think we could have a meeting that is a mixture of the two?”

Councillor Rob Walsh also welcomed the virtual meetings but added that the local authority needs to become “more inclusive” going forward – adding that there is still a benefit to face to face meetings.

He said: “Even though I think Zoom is the way forward, or the next stage of Zoom going forward, I do think we need to be more open and inclusive and how we hold meetings in the future.

“I do think in the short term, when it is safe for us to go back to the Guildhall I think we need to. I think that a lot of us, I know I am, are suffering from Zoom fatigue.

“I have missed many of my colleagues and not speaking to them in person. I think the importance of meeting in person is how we build working relationships with one another.

“In a couple of weeks, we’re going to have a new member of the Council and they’re going to be in an unfortunate position where they’re not going to get to know quite a few of us and then next year, we may have quite a few new elected members after the election

“Even though the technology is necessary going forward, and I’m all for looking at ways of improving it, where we can safely and I stress the word safely, meet back on the Guildhall I hope we can.”

Chairman of the committee, councillor Malcolm King, pointed out covid had changed how meetings are held, noting that it is “not acceptable” to tell someone who can’t physically attend a meeting that they can’t take part another way.

The meeting was told that further guidance on how meetings can be held is expected from the Welsh Government in the near future and that there is a possibility of hybrid meetings, depending on the technology and advice.

Top pic: The Guildhall chamber in 2019.