Decision:
The Chair welcomed everyone to this virtual Council meeting that was being conducted with Members and Officers at various locations, communicating via audio/video and online and advised that there was the opportunity for the public and press to listen and view proceedings.
The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager gave advice regarding the following:
· Attendance
· Live Streaming
· Noise interference
· Rules of Debate
· Voting
The Chairman of the Council, Councillor Jean Green started the meeting proper.
Minutes:
Audio Recording - 1 minute 33 seconds
The Chair welcomed everyone to this virtual Council meeting that was being conducted with Members and Officers at various locations, communicating via audio/video and online and advised that there was the opportunity for the public and press to listen and view proceedings.
The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager gave advice regarding the following:
Attendance
A roll call was undertaken to confirm that the required Members were present and could hear and be heard.:
Live Streaming
The meeting was being streamed live on the Council’s You Tube channel and also recorded on Zoom. If live streaming failed the meeting would adjourn. If the live stream could not be restored within a reasonable period then the remaining business would be considered at a time and date fixed by the Chair. If the Chair did not fix a date, the remaining business would be considered at the next ordinary meeting.
Please stay in view of the camera at all times.
If for any reason the meeting was not quorate an Officer would notify attendees by interjecting the meeting. The meeting would adjourn immediately. Once the meeting was quorate the meeting would resume. If connection could not be restored within a reasonable period, then the remaining business would be considered at a time and date fixed by the Chair. If the Chair did not fix a date, the remaining business would be considered at the next ordinary meeting.
Only Members present for the entire debate and consideration of an item were entitled to vote. If technology failed for a Member during the debate and they rejoined the meeting, they would not be able to vote on that item.
Noise interference
The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager requested that mobile phones and other noise emitting devices be muted.
The mute button on tablets or computers should be activated when not speaking. If cameras were activated, please be mindful that others can see you.
Members would be invited to address Council by the Chair - please show respect to each other and do not talk over someone who is already speaking or interject uninvited.
Rules of Debate
If a Member wished to speak they should use the raise hand button and unmute their microphone before speaking.
Members were reminded that the normal procedure rules in respect of debate and times to speak would apply:
No speeches may be made after the mover has moved a proposal and explained the purpose of it until the motion has been seconded.
When seconding a motion or amendment, a Member may reserve their speech until later in the debate.
The mover of an amendment had no right of reply.
Members were reminded that, In accordance with the Constitution, no speech should exceed five minutes without the consent of the Chair
If a Member had a closure motion, personal explanation or point of order, they should interject the meeting at an appropriate time and wait for the Chair’s invitation to address the meeting.
If any of the Officers needed to address Council at any point during proceedings, to aid discussions, they should respectfully interject and await a response before addressing the Chair.
Voting
When satisfied that there has been sufficient debate the Chair would request that the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager read out the recommendation that Members would be voting upon.
When requested to vote, voting would be via the Green tick for “Yes”, Red Cross for “No” and Blue Raise Hand for “abstain”, located in the participants section at the bottom of the screen. To enable the votes to be counted, votes should not be cleared until requested to do so.
Details of how Members voted would not be kept or minuted unless a Recorded Vote was requested or an individual requested that their vote be recorded, and it would not be heard or seen on the audio and YouTube recordings of the meeting.
The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager would clearly state the result of the vote and the Chair would proceed to the next agenda item.
In the event of a tied vote the Chair would have the casting vote.
The Chairman of the Council, Councillor Jean Green started the meeting proper.