Legislation – The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020

Section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 196021 (admission of public to meetings of local authorities and other bodies) applies as follows—

(a)

subsection (4)(a) is to be read as if, after “(or, if the body has no offices, then in some central and conspicuous place in the area with which it is concerned)” there were inserted “or publishing on the website of the body or, for a parish council, on the website of the principal council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1972”;

(b)

after subsection (9), there were inserted—

“(9A)

In this Act, references (however expressed) to—

(a)

a meeting being “open to the public” include access to the meeting through remote means including (but not limited to) video conferencing, live webcast, and live interactive streaming and where a meeting is accessible to the public through such remote means the meeting is open to the public whether or not members of the public are able to attend the meeting in person;

(b)

being “present” at a meeting include access through remote means mentioned in paragraph (a) above.”.