Covid-19: When will councillors meet in person again?

But meetings of the full Brighton and Hove City Council will be smaller with a maximum of only 14 out of 54 councillors likely to gather in the town hall chamber.

The changes are being made after the expiry of a temporary change in law which allowed meetings and votes to take place online during the pandemic.

Council leader Phélim Mac Cafferty has raised concerns because many younger councillors are not yet eligible for vaccination – four are under 30.

And about half the members of the council have had only their first Covid jab, with the current council membership containing a higher proportion of under 60s than in the past.

Council leader Phelim Mac Cafferty

All those attending meetings will be required to wear a mask and to have had a negative result for Covid from a lateral flow test.

A one-way system will operate at Hove Town Hall in Norton Road, where meetings in person will take place. The chamber is bigger than at Brighton Town Hall and the seats are not fixed, making social distancing easier.

Meetings of the full council are likely to consist of five Greens and five Labour councillors, with three Conservatives and one Independent.

Councillor Bridget Fishleigh has put herself forward as the only member to have been elected as an Independent. Three others have become Independent since being elected on a party ticket.

Social distancing is easier at Brighton Town Hall because of the large chamber

All committees, apart from planning, are likely to be reduced to just three or four elected members.

Planning committee meetings are expected to include all ten councillors. A committee of just three met at the start of the first lockdown but they all wanted the input of their colleagues.

Licensing panels will continue to hold virtual hearings, with webcasts on the council website, because the panels are governed by a different legal framework.

And the duration of meetings is expected to be curtailed as committees will be asked to deal only with the most urgent matters.

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Other decisions will be delegated to officials who will be expected to consult leading councillors.

Some committees have non-voting co-opted members or members with a standing invitation to attend. They will be expected to join meetings remotely.

But voting co-optees – such as the representatives of the Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) who sit on the council’s health and wellbeing board – are likely to attend meetings in person.

Covid measures remain in place at Hove Town Hall

The council plans to admit about half a dozen members of the public who will have to book tickets in advance.

Those asking questions, presenting petitions or leading deputations will be allowed to attend in person when no alternative arrangement is possible but should leave after they have spoken unless they have a seat booked in the public gallery.

One member of the press can attend in person.

The arrangements are due to be discussed by the policy and resources committee on Thursday. They are expected to remain until July when they will be reviewed.