Article summary
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has confirmed that council meetings must take place in person. Considering the spread of the Omicron variant, Green Party life peer, Natalie Bennett, asked whether local government bodies could hold meetings remotely. The DLUHC responded by referring to a High Court judgement handed down on 27 April 2021 which confirmed that 'the Local Government Act 1972 specifies that council meetings must take place in person at a single, specified, geographical location and being 'present' at such a meeting involves physical presence at that location'. Conservative life peer, Stephen Greenhalgh, reiterated that the judgement confirmed that regulations which allowed local authorities to meet remotely during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic did not apply to meetings after 6 May 2021 and that any permanent change would require primary legislation and Parliamentary time being available.
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