Councillors will meet again... on video link

The first full Renfrewshire Council meeting since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic will be held later this month... but not all elected members will be allowed to attend, writes Steph Brawn, Local Democracy Reporter.

Just before lockdown restrictions came into force in March, all regular council and board meetings were cancelled up until Wednesday, June 24 .

Weekly meetings of the emergencies board - which has been overseeing all the activities of the council during the coronavirus crisis - have continued every Friday, but these have been held over Skype while Renfrewshire House in Paisley has been closed.

During this week’s meeting, the board agreed the full council meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 25, will go ahead but will be held remotely, with councillors able to access it through a video link or by phone.

However, in a bid to limit the number of potential technical difficulties during the meeting, only 21 members out of 43 will be allowed to contribute.

All the political parties have agreed the 21 will be made up of 10 SNP councillors including the Provost, six Labour members, three Conservative, one Independent and the sole Liberal Democrat member, Eileen McCartin.

At the meeting, members will discuss whether scheduled board conferences in August and September can go ahead.

Members will also consider whether there should be any changes made to meetings of the emergencies board, such as whether they should be held over the summer or be more frequent.

Those councillors who have not sat on the board will have their first chance to publicly ask questions on the local authority’s response to the coronavirus crisis.

Details of who will be attending the meeting will be confirmed a couple of weeks before and it will be recorded and broadcast on the council’s website shortly after it has concluded.