County councillors to hold first full virtual meeting

Instead of being at their usual meeting place in County Hall, county councillors will be logging in from their own homes

On Tuesday (May 12), East Sussex County Council is to hold a virtual full council meeting, with councillors tuning in from their own homes.

Councillors are set to discuss a variety of items at the meeting, including a series of temporary arrangements intended to ensure the council can continue to function during the lockdown.

Members will be asked to formally approve the approach already taken by the council, which has seen lead members make decisions at virtual meetings.

These meetings, which have been going on for several weeks, are intended to become more widely accessible to members of the public in the near future, the council says. Members of the press have been able to access the meetings by prior appointment.

Members are also asked to agree for council leader Keith Glazier – or in his absence deputy leader Nick Bennett – to be able to make decisions on behalf of the council’s cabinet.

This is intended to ensure decisions can be taken if the cabinet cannot meet or is not quorate due to Covid-19 related disruption, the council says.

Councillors will also be asked to approve changes to the council’s planning committee, allowing decisions to be made by a senior officer in consultation with the committee’s chairman.

Similar arrangements have been put in place for the council’s pensions and governance committees and its discretionary transport panels.

All these measures would be reviewed by October 2020 or sooner if requested by a group leader.

Elsewhere in the agenda, councillors will also be given the opportunity to raise questions on any topic.

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