Impact of coronavirus in Hartlepool among items up for discussion at special remote meeting

The extraordinary meeting of Hartlepool Borough Council will be held remotely on Wednesday, June 10, due to restrictions in place to help limit the spread of Covid-19.

This means councillors will be carrying out votes and discussions using Microsoft Teams, instead of having to be sat in the council chamber.

It comes after national legislation was brought in to allow councils to meet and members to vote on items of business remotely.

A public link to watch the meeting will be made available on the Hartlepool Borough Council website at least 24 hours before the meeting, according to council chiefs.

The council has not held any public meetings since the Neighbourhood Services Committee meeting in early March due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the last Full Council meeting held in February.

The pandemic meant all planned council meetings had to be cancelled, including the Full Council meeting previously scheduled for March 19.

The major item on the agenda for the extraordinary meeting is a report from chief executive Gill Alexander which will provide an update on numerous items, predominantly related to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This will include looking at how the council has responded to prevent the spread of the virus across Hartlepool, protect the vulnerable and keep the community running, along with looking at the next steps for the fight against Covid-19.

The report also lays out plans for the council to hold remote meetings for other committees, but only when there are issues requiring a decision.

It said: “Due to the Coronavirus outbreak Hartlepool Borough Council had to take the unprecedented step of either cancelling or postponing all Full Council, committees, boards and panel meetings.

“We are now able to hold ‘remote’ meetings using Microsoft Teams.

“It is proposed that where we do hold ‘remote’ meetings we only do so where the issues to be considered require a ‘decision.’”

Proposals are also laid out for further full council meetings to be held in September, December and February, before the annual council meeting in May next year.

The report adds socially distanced meetings have been considered and this may be an option for smaller meetings.

However council chiefs said it would not be possible for meetings of Full Council as potential venues, such as the Borough Hall, do not have a conference mic system.

Other items to be covered in the chief executive’s report include an update on the council housing revenue account plans.

The extraordinary meeting is scheduled to start at 5.30pm on Wednesday, June 10, and a link to access it is to be made available at least 24 hours before the meeting at https://www.hartlepool.gov.uk/

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